tips for leading a simple life

July 12th is National Simplicity Day, it was founded in honour of Henry David Thoreau, who was born on July 12, 1817. Thoreau was an advocate of living simply and wrote a number of well known books on the subject. Although sometimes irrational, Thoreau wanted a life that was more closely connected with nature in comparison with the rapid industrialization around him.
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In the complicated world that we inhabit today where mobile phone’s, laptops and other modern day gadgets mean that we very rarely experience true peace and quiet to gather our thoughts, what better excuse to leave the technology at home and experience the feeling of truly being in the moment.

Here are a few ideas for living a simpler life:

SLOW DOWN
S -  Slow down, be aware of every single step you take today and notice what is around you. This could be the start of making simple changes to every day life.

IMAGINE
I - Imagine how your life could be if you were to take steps to make it more simple. Spend some time imagining this and creating a vision of what this will be like. 

MEANINGFUL
M - Look for meaningful, moments in every day tasks that you do

PLAYFUL
P - Make time for some playful activities everyday, things that you love to do that bring you joy and make you smile

LIMIT
L- Limit your screen time today or switch off your technology all together for a day.

IMMERSE
I - Immerse yourself in activities which you love and you lose all sense of time when you are doing them.

CONNECT
C - Connect with nature as much as you can during your day to day life. Spend time outside in your garden if you have one, go for a walk, stop and notice the beauty of nature around you.

IDENTIFY
I - Identify things in your life that don't energise or motivate you and see if there are any of them you can let go of to bring more simplicity into your life

TRUST
T - Trust your intuition and let it guide you into a simpler way of living.

YOURSELF
Y - Give yourself permission to let go of thoughts that hold you back from leading a life that you love, and have the courage to say no to things that don't leave you feeling good about yourself.

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