Living light means having only enough on your calendar that you can handle –not over scheduling or over promising, but instead adding in time to take care of your body, mind and spirit. Living light means filling your spirit with whatever it needs to be lifted, inspired, encouraged and relaxed. Adding good friends and laughter into your life, and being kind whenever possible, are ways my spirit is lifted.
Living light also means eating and drinking nutritiously so your body doesn’t feel burdened and lethargic. The way you eat and drink is analogous to how you should live your life: ‘Balance life’ as not to be weighted down or burdened by too much stress.
Steps to Living Light
Let’s break it down.
First, Possessions: Assess your possessions. Do you shop to avoid emotions? Do you buy things to procrastinate or fill voids in your life? Step back and analyze your emotions, feelings and behaviors. If you answered yes to any of these, then take the time to work on your personal growth and emotional status –you are worth it. Next, take the time to walk through your home and decided which items are truly needed and which can be donated, recycled, or thrown away.
Second, Flow of Energy: Think about the flow of your home. Is there one room or space that immediately stops you in your tracks? That fills you with dread? If so, assess the emotions you experience. Are they stress and dread? Or maybe sadness and avoidance? Whatever you are feeling, allow yourself to feel, process and then, most importantly, release. Don’t allow a room to control you. Create a plan to organize, declutter, or restructure, or reach out to a professional for help. Professional organizers can help with physical clutter, while a therapist can help with emotional clutter.
Third, Your Calendar: Pull out your phone calendar or paper calendar –I recommend using only one since you are only one person and not a time traveler. If, however, you manage an office or a family use a group daily appointment book to streamline multiple schedules into one location. Next, take 20 seconds to swipe through the weeks and months. It is all full? Is there any room for rest, or for your passions and hobbies? If not, then we must fix that. No, it is not impossible. Yes, you can prioritize yourself. No, it is not selfish. Next to each item on your calendar mark an “N” for necessary activities, a “D” for desired activities and a “U” for those that are unnecessary. If you find there are hardly any D’s, add one, two, or three things each week that you truly want to do. If you’ve found hardly any U’s, think about something you can at least do less often. If that proves impossible… call a professional organizer to help!
Fourth, Over Promising or Committing: Similar to no. 3, requires you to assess what commitments are necessary, which are desired and which are unnecessary. If you are prioritizing others more, pause, breathe and mentally prepare yourself to take this as a year you begin to choose yourself more often. You yourself, as well as the people in your life need to respect you as a completely human individual with your own complex needs.
Fifth, Fill Your Spirit: You need to begin to fill your spirit. Get out another sheet of paper and write down 10 things that fill your spirit. I told you mine: self-care, time with good friends, laughter and being kind whenever possible. Now, you must learn what makes you happy, relaxed, or at peace, and prioritize that as best you can. This is not selfish, it is self-care.
Sixth, Food and Drink: Mental health is just as important as physical health, but how many of us aren’t even taking care of our physical health? Well, it’s time to begin. What foods are you eating? Do you eat a majority of your calories after 8pm? Are you drinking enough water to fuel your body? These are all incredibly important, since what you put in your body powers every single one of your daily activities. Furthermore, visit the doctor if you haven’t in a while to check your vitamin and mineral levels, or see a nutritionist or massage therapist to assist you in maintaining your health.
Seventh, Balance and Burden: Establish a balance between the burdens of reality and the power we have to choose happiness. Steps one through six are all created to help you choose happiness and balance the burdens of life.
Please, walk through these steps, take them seriously and share them with your friends. And, as always, if you need help Living Light contact us for assistance!
