We Complicate Our Lives
Sometimes, we hear this expression from some people, “Life is getting complicated these days.” I’m pretty sure some of us have heard this before. And maybe you didn’t just pay attention, or think about it because you think that your life is exempt from the complication issue.
The truth is that life is meant to be simple to be enjoyed as was originally intended by the maker, but unfortunately, we in our selfishness have designed a life that is complicated in so many unnecessary ways. Why? This is because many people are crazily busy today chasing various things that they do not really need or want. Because of the inordinate affection for material possession, and love of money, most people got no time to pause long enough to reflect upon what really matters most again.
We Desire Simple Life
If we really desire to live a life of simplicity, it is vital that we first understand what makes our lives complicated. We are not just a victim of complications as many of us will wrongly assume. So how do we complicate our lives? For some of us, we complicate our lives by living beyond our means. Some by the kind of decisions we make. For instance, by taking up several projects, appointments, lavished lifestyles, at once without paying attention to the availability of resources, both physically, financially, and emotionally.
We also complicate our lives by buying or acquiring things we don’t really need or can’t maintain. Because it is one thing to buy a luxury car or a mansion and yet another to maintain it. Oftentimes, it is not necessaily the cost of buying a house, car, a device of any type that causes the stress, but the maintenance. I love what one Pastor said some time ago, he said that “It is more difficult to maintain success than becoming successful.
And for some people, it is the cost of maintenance that gets them into trouble. Because the how expensive any item is the more expensive it will be for maintenance. I don’t know about you, I shop for fairly used items, I buy used cars for instance at a very good value. Whereas my spouse doesn’t like me to buy fairly used items regardless of how new. He just hates it, and that leads him to buy things he pays almost twice the price for the fairly used.
And by that kind of decision and high tastes, he can be complicating his life by working so hard, and paying high unending bills, and complaining about it. So, using a car for an instance, when a person makes a decision to buy a particular, that decision involves other silent decisions, such as the regular service, the grade of gas for the car, tires, and so forth. So the point is that some decisions have compounding choice effects.
Another good example is the idea of having a dog without thinking through the cost of maintaining the dog. I know how many times I have argued and discouraged my children from having a dog. It is not that I hate dogs, but I didn’t want them to complicate their busy lives. I considered the food, the vet visits, taking it out to pee every now and then, grooming and so forth, I counted the pros and cons and refused them. Because, they were not aware of the hidden cost of caring for a dog. I know they were mostly interested on the joy the dog will bring.
So, the point here is that, in making some decisions we have to be fully aware of the short and long term cost. If we want to live a simple life, we have to study what we can’t live without or live with under any circumstances.
Determine to Live Simple
To live a simple life is a choice, and discipline. It is a desirable trait. If it is set as a goal, as we set other important goals, for instance, some of us set the goal of how to make six figures every month, and you pursue it with every bit of energy, so we can set the goal to live a life of simplicity no matter where we live, how much we make, our religion, and so forth. Remember that one thing will always lead to another; just bear that in mind whenever you’re making your choices or decisions about how best to live your life without carrying unnecessary loads.
Simplify Your Life By learning to Say No
This is another area where some people complicate their lives. They live to please everyone. They hardly say no to any demands. The truth is that for you to live your life without frequent interruptions, you must learn how to say No to certain demands. In fact, saying no frees you the space to accommodate the most important things. Without the boldness, self-confidence to say no to certain things that are considered destructive, and disruptive, you can’t have the time and energy to say yes to the needful things.
Again, if we don’t learn to say No to certain things, we will feel insecure. Let me equally add this point that just crawl through mind as I write this paragraph. Part of the reason why we must learn how to say no is to regain the control of our lives, time, relationships from the social media addiction. The 24/7 attachment to our devices, mostly cell phones and laptops needs deliverance.
As we know, or don’t realize, our foremothers and forefathers did not live a media-driven kind of life we have today. And because they didn’t they lived simple, healthy, happy life. Contrast it with how we are drrowing in the ocean of technological advancements with all the side effects to our psych and health.
The kind of life we are living today, I will rightly say, that it is unprecedented, it has never been before in the human history, go and investigate. So we need to be cautioned, to live a holistic life, that takes into serious consideration our spiritual life. Because according to one writer he said that, “Tthe greatest threat to one’s wholeness is one’s unrecognized spiritual needs.” I can’t agree more with him. We are to live our lives spiritually, because life is spiritual not scientific, or economical.
No Simplicity Without Spirituality
Today, everybody seems to be pursuing one goal, and what is it? Money, success, and physical things as we know them. We have given our 80-90% of our day to day energy and time chasing after all these things while starving our spiritual life! As far as God designed us, none of us can be able to live life to the fullest if we ignore the spiritual dimension of living. Starving our soul from the spiritual nourishment is part of living a complicated life, which is a threat to living a wholesome life. It is unfortunate that many don’t realize this. But I encourage you to learn to simplify your life by saying no to certain demands, by making well informed decisions, and above by not ignoring your spiritual life.
I agree with the overall sentiment of saying “no” to certain things for whatever reason. I told my girlfriend for almost two decades to tell a few of her family members who were obviously taking advantage of her.
I love her family and I help them out when they truly need it, but they would call her up at midnight and ask her to pick them up a pack of cigarettes, and she would just hop up and do it, no questions asked, knowing she had to be at work in the ER in a few hours.
She finally stood up for herself, and they figured out how to deal with their own lives without her there holding their hands. That made it so she wasn’t so stressed anymore, not having to worry about them as much.
Do you know anyone that you’ve had to personally advise to do similarly?
Hi T-Rx, thanks so much for sharing that wonderful testimony of helping your girlfriend regain her freedom from the subtle struggle with insecurity. Many people o things they know they shouldn’t do, just because they feel insecure. And it is also the reason why some people accept things that are not normal as normal.
As per your question, my answer is yes, several times, even with my relations. Does that help?
Thanks for your comment.