A Simple Life Can Be Surprising and Beneficial

You may be thinking that living a simple life means you have to give up the things you enjoy in life.

However, this is not always the case!

In fact, sometimes people who live a simpler lifestyle end up with more time and money because they're not stressed out about materialistic things.

This post will explore some of the benefits of simplifying and downsizing your life - so that you can find out whether or not the minimal way is right for you.

Increased Willpower

How many times have you started a new diet only to find yourself eating that piece of cake and saying, “screw it! I’ll start over on Monday.”

It’s not necessarily a lack of personal character to blame - it’s the fact that our willpower is finite. Every decision you make within the course of a day only drains your willpower further, making it harder for you to set and stick to goals.

However, as soon as you simplify your life, you’ll find that your willpower is dramatically increased and strengthened. Mindfulness and relaxation make you happy, authentically and organically, when you begin to live a more simple lifestyle. You’ll have fewer obligations and distractions bouncing around in your mind so that it will be easier for you to focus on individual goals

Sleep Quality

We all wish we could get more sleep - but what if I told you it was more about the quality of sleep you get than the quantity?

Our lives are so filled with commitments and stressors that it’s hard to find the time for quality sleep on your recently purchased organic mattress. Once we do get into bed, it takes us forever to fall asleep. If you find yourself waking up at 2 am and fretting about a forgotten work email, then downsizing and simplifying your life is a great way to regain some much-needed (quality) zzzs.

Strengthen Your Health

One of the biggest - yet perhaps most surprising - benefits of living a simpler life is that you will dramatically improve your health.

This occurs in several ways.

The first is that, by reducing obligations and commitments that aren't necessary for your survival or happiness, you’ll eliminate all kinds of stressors. Just think about it - you’re cutting things like debt, harmful relationships, and unsatisfying jobs out of your life. You’ll have more time to take care of yourself, both physically and mentally.

You will have time to take a nap. You can be creative. You can meditate. All of these actions have major implications for your mental health.

Of course, even without changing your schedule, diet, or working out, you’ll find that living a lifestyle of simplicity can lower your blood pressure and reduce the risk of disease. Stress inherently increases the rates of migraines, colds, and even autoimmune diseases that you might suffer from.

If you’re always sick, consider cutting back on some of your commitments - simplifying can really help boost your health.

Improved Concentration

Simplifying your life can also improve your concentration. In the day and age of smartphones, where there are chimes constantly alerting you to new events, emails, and random cute pictures and news stories, it’s easy to get distracted.

These distractions might seem harmless at first glance, but they add up. Combine them with our schedules that have become increasingly jam-packed with commitments, and it’s unsurprising that you can only concentrate on a task for a few minutes before something else pulls you away.

Living simply invites you to cut out those distractions. Get rid of the things that don’t add any value to your life. When you have fewer appointments, social media profiles, and video games pulling you in every single direction, you’ll have more mental energy to focus on the task at hand.

Strengthen Relationships

Do you wish you could be closer to your friends or kids?  

If so, you may want to embrace the benefits of simplifying your life.  

This may sound counterintuitive. After All, how are you going to stay connected with your loved ones if you disconnect from social media or stop going out on weekly coffee dates?

The answer to the question is just as simple as the question of simplification itself - and that is, you are always going to make time for the people you love the most.

Once you figure out where your priorities lie, you’ll be able to find more time to genuinely connect. In doing this, you’ll be able to concentrate on meaningful concentrations rather than thinking about long to-do lists or approaching deadlines. You'll be able to actively listen and engage with the people you care about the most.

The bottom line is this - it’s easy to lose touch with our loved ones when we’re always connected to our phones and computers. We just can’t connect because our minds are already so full. When you add layer upon layer of digital information, it makes things even more complicated. Unplugging can help you truly engage and listen.

Not only that, but a more minimalist lifestyle will allow you to consider how you respond to situations. You will have the mental space and time necessary to reflect before you respond to a situation - you will be less likely to say things that you don’t mean and to answer from a thoughtful place rather than a place of fight or flight.

When you make your life more simple, you may find those silly disagreements you used to get into (over seemingly nothing!) become a thing of the past.

Extra Money

Leading a simpler life can lead to an exciting (yet perhaps not surprising) benefit - more money in the bank!

Even if you aren't the type of person who struggles with impulsive shopping or other financial issues related to a life of excess, living more simply can help you save a ton of money. You might find yourself playing mental gymnastics to justify your expenses - perhaps you “need” all those clothes for your corporate job or you constantly get food delivered because it’s easier.

The reality is that many of the things we spend our money on aren’t actually necessary but are temporary fixes meant to distract you from real issues in your life. Perhaps you hate your job or don’t like the direction your life is headed in. Until you consciously make that connection and work to slow yourself down, you won’t realize how much better life can be.  

Once you simplify your life and stop buying things to make you happy or to impress others, you’ll have unfettered financial freedom.

This is one of the easiest places to start on your journey to simplicity. Keep your lifestyle simple and uncluttered. Build a budget. Stick to it. Sell the things you don’t need anymore and only buy things you love or need.

This may make it possible for you to explore your newfound financial freedom in other ways - when you’re spending less, your finances will be on more secure footing. You can eliminate debt and live in a smaller space, since you’ll have fewer physical possessions. You can travel. You can spend your money on experiences instead of things. The benefits are too numerous to list!

Gratitude

This one might be obvious, but living your life on more basic terms can also help you appreciate what you have.  

It’s our nature as human beings to always want more. We spend our energy, money, and time trying to do more, own more, achieve more, and have more. However, once we get what we want, the satisfaction quickly fades. You’re on to the next thing, working to achieve the next goal or hit the next milestone.

Living simply helps us to value what we have rather than always chasing more, more, more.

If you’re a naturally ambitious go-getter, it can be hard to shift your thinking from the next step to appreciating what you have at the moment.

However, once you're able to slow down and take a look around you, you’ll likely realize how much more grateful you are for your health, your spouse, and other aspects of your life.  

These feelings of gratitude will allow you to experience more hope. That’s because you’re already aware of how beautiful your life currently is - this opens up a great deal of optimism about new possibilities and experiences, too.

As a result of the feelings of gratitude combined with a better sense of optimism for the future, you’ll likely find that you are more benevolent, too. After all, you’ve freed up your financial resources, need less to be happy, and are more grateful for what you already have - so now it’s time to consider how you can be more giving.

People who live simple lives are almost always more generous with their time and money than those who live complicated existences - after all, they have the freedom to be!

Healthier Eating Habits

The list of the benefits of living a simple life goes on and on.

One is that our jam-packed, too-busy lives often cause us to turn to rushed convenience meals and stress snacking. These are, unfortunately, the norm for many Americans. 

However, when you turn to a simple way of living, you'll find that the unnecessary demands on your time are lifted. This lowers your stress levels - so preparing nutritious and delicious meals suddenly becomes more practical.

When you live a minimalist lifestyle, you will likely also find that you can make healthier choices and avoid unnecessary snacking with ease.

Faster Cleaning

You don’t have to be a total minimalist in order to live life simply - however, many people do. Owning less stuff is a benefit and a natural step in simplifying your life. 

If you’re like most people, you probably spend a large portion of your weekend cleaning your home. It might look great for a day or so and then the dust, dirt, and clutter will start building up again.

Owning fewer things will force you to clean up frequently, letting you power through your chores more quickly and efficiently. If you only have four or five dinner plates, you’ll need to wash them after every meal. If you only have a small rotation of clothing, you’ll never have a huge pile of laundry to conquer.

With this surprising benefit of living a simple life, just as with the rest, you’ll have more freedom. When your physical space, your body, and your mind are rested, decluttered, and attentive to your specific values and needs, you’ll be able to tackle anything - cleaning chores or not.

Living A Simple Life Has Many Pros To Your Lifestyle and Wellbeing

One final benefit of living a simple lifestyle? You’ll likely learn a lot about yourself. If you aren’t constantly distracting yourself with your cell phone or other gadgets and gizmos, you’ll have the mental space and time to learn more about yourself - and to invest in what makes you truly happy. You’ll be able to reflect and be grateful for all that you already have.

In doing this, you’ll find it easier to be true to yourself and your values. Material things, after all, don’t guarantee happiness - it just leads you to pine for more. A complex life with lots of expenses distracts from the real beauty of life and everything that it has to offer.

Live a simple life and you won’t be influenced by society’s materialistic values. You can follow your own goals and desires without worrying about what other people think. You will have the freedom to truly be yourself.

The benefits of living a simple and frugal lifestyle – such as increased happiness, lower stress levels, more time to spend with loved ones, less clutter in your life, and the ability to save money for what you really want – are well known.  

If you’re ready to take steps towards simplifying your own life today, start by doing some downsizing. Downsizing will allow you not only to declutter your home but also clear up a mental space that can be filled with peace  - rather than chaos or regret. Get started today on your journey toward a simpler life!

Shana Thompson is a full time professional writer and editor. Shana has worked extensively in the fields of content marketing, on-page and off-page SEO (guest posts, backlink acquisition), and creative writing. As an experienced pro content writer, Shana has worked on several magazines, publishing companies and marketing agencies. Many recent projects have included everything from nutrition and health services, where a lot of research and citations were needed, to writing about health, sustainable, eco-friendly products.

Follow Shana at Shana Thompson

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