You know, I have been thinking a lot lately. I am considering simplifying my life. I mean, like a total overhaul. Okay, maybe not that far, but pretty darn close.
The thing is, the past few years I have been so busy with school, kids and household responsibilities, that I haven't had a chance to slow down and enjoy life. I am moving from one task to the next, and managing multiple tasks at once can be overwhelming.
Being so overwhelmed has stressed me out. Dealing with chronic stress has taken its toll on me. I am not as energetic as I use to be, my sleep pattern is messed up, and I am catching more colds and flus than I used to. I remember I would get the flu every couple of years or so. The past year it seemed like I was sick every couple of months. Those late nights of studying and cramming for tests have caught up with me.
So now its summer vacation and I am trying to reorganize my life. Start fresh, get a kick start on living a healthy life, destress and start a new routine before fall quarter begins.
So how am I going to do it? By decluttering my life!
Possessions/things: The less in your way, the better. When my husband and I first got married we had barely anything. Things have piled up in the past 8 years that I just need to get rid of. Now I wish for the days when I had less stuff. Cleaning was a lot simpler and I had more living space.
Spiritual: Lately my spiritual life has been set aside. I need to get back on track with my faith and integrate it in my life again. Seems like the stronger my faith is, the lower my stress levels are.
Relationships: These need "decluttered" too. Anyone who brings any type of negativity into your life needs to be dealt with. My biggest one are the gossipers. I cannot stand when people bad mouth others behind their backs. It stresses me out. They have a poor self esteem, are not happy in life, and feel they have to bad mouth people to feel better about themselves. Try to avoid it at all costs, because even as an innocent bystander, you wouldn't want someone entertaining that type of behavior about you.
Media: Yes, media can have an effect on you as well. Television, texting, radio, etc. Seems like when its present, you lose a sense of control over your thoughts. Since my television has been broken, I enjoy the peace and quiet that I have in my house. I can think about things I choose to think about, not about an ad that is telling me why I have to buy their product every 30 seconds. Not only that, but watching reality tv, I have noticed that people are setting aside their morals and starting to replicate the cut-throat drama (in reality tv) in the real world. Lying, backstabbing, and malicious behavior is occuring now more frequently and is the norm in many places. Maybe watching reality tv desensitizes people to that. I saw a preview on Mtv once for Real World where a man threw another man off the balcony in a rage, onto a concrete ground below. Seeing that stressed me out immensely, wondering what that person's family must feel seeing their loved one treated like that, and played over and over again on television. Texting is another issue I have. It is so time consuming and as an impatient person, I cannot express everything I feel in an jacked up alpha-numeric code. OK C U L8R. TTYS. <3 U I've been in arguments with my sister, who is a huge texter, and she'll have 3 pages of text sent before I even finish my first sentence. I am such a slow texter that even texting stresses me out!
Exercise: When dealing with chronic low grade stress, your body builds up hormones to deal with the stress. But long ago, our stress may have been from predatorial, territorial, or environmental causes. Which meant that people had to "flee" whatever threat they encountered. Well now we have a "sedentary" type of stress to deal with. When people stress over the next upcoming test or paper due, you can't really "flee" it. What your body needs is physical exercise to release those hormones, so they do not build up in your body and cause other health issues. So its important to work up a sweat everyday.
Food: Yes, food can pollute your life. Eating too much processed and junk food can make you sluggish and unhealthy. Food is fuel for your body... and what goes into your body can impact your health greatly in a positive or negative way. Now why wouldn't you want to use clean and efficient fuel for your body? I am pretty much eating a whole food diet, with as little processed food as possible. If its processed it has to be good choices, like high fiber bread, all natural tomato sauce, etc.
Emotions: Often times we can dwell on things that have happened in the past and harp on it for an eternity. But I think the whole idea of "forgiveness" can help the forgiver greater than it can for the person being forgiven. Negative thoughts and emotions can take over your life and become toxic to you and your health. Bitterness, self pity, unhappiness, jealousy, and greed are just some examples of the negative emotions that can take over your life. Obsessing over these emotions, events and everything is a waste of time. Why spend your youngest, active and most vibrant years in misery that you can avoid? Save it for the nursing home, where you have a good excuse to be miserable!! Just kidding! But really eventually people around you will get tired of it and will try to avoid being around you.
Sleep: Make sure you get at least 7 hours of solid sleep a night. Also, make sure your sleeping space is not too "busy" or cluttered. Meaning, keep the colors of your room in calming tones. Have less clutter in your room, keep it neat. Make sure there isn't a bunch of dust and the air is clean and fresh. If you use AC, it wouldn't hurt to open your windows to allow some fresh air in. Clean your bed linen at least once a week. A fresh clean room is always inviting for a good rest!
Nature: I love nature. There is something about being outdoors that is so relaxing for me. Fresh air, the smell of vegetation, and the sounds of the wild life is like therapy for me. If you live in a city like environment, it may not be easy to come by, so parks are your best bet for a natural setting. A side note, there is something about sitting around a bonfire that is relaxing and entertaining for us. I don't care who you are or where you come from, I am sure it will be relaxing for you as well. Round up some friends around a fire pit and enjoy some good old fashioned conversation and entertainment.
Well, that's it for now. I know I wrote a long post here, but I hope the info is useful and thank you for reading!
Ciao!
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