I woke up today and walked out onto the beach. The water was cold, the sky was ice blue and became more pigmented every few minutes. The sand was graciously cool despite he heat here recently. I had a coffee mug filled with Irish Breakfast tea in one hand and my free hand stretched out to the horizon.

It only took a few minutes to let go of any residual  rumblings in my mind and the accompanying questions… Am I… Did I … Should I… What if I…?  

It was all gone with the crashing waves that pulled back the shore.  I willed them away just like I willed myself time at the beach.

From less choices to less worry to less furniture, there are so many compelling reasons to strip down your life to more basics.

In my house, there’s doodling at the dining room table, time set aside to water the plants, a whole lot of baking and cooking…

A sort of grand simplicity overtook my life in the last six months, after six complicated yet rewarding months of work took me over like a tornado.

Now, much more gets done and there’s a hum and a buzz and a sense of wellbeing restored.

Simplicity.

I fought the idea kicking and screaming, but I promise when you choose the simple rather than the three-ring-circus that is designed to make everyone feel at once very important and also very much in a tidal wave, things flow with so much more ease.

1.We have a hard time focusing when drenched in information, so simplifying even your web searches will clear the decks dramatically in life and open you up to Executive Focus. That’s the ability to focus on tasks at hand that must be done rather than wandering to things that would be fun or cool to do!In Wired’s Focusing On Focus, Executive Focus is explored:”So what’s holding us back? Why does this surfeit of information so often feel overwhelming instead of enlightening? The answer returns us to the stubborn limitations of the human mind, especially when it comes to the ability to focus properly. As the psychologist Herbert Simon famously declared, “A wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.”But it doesn’t have to be this way; the mind isn’t quite as constrained as we’ve assumed. Though our attention will always be a scare resource, easily steamrolled by the world’s abundant distractions, it’s possible to improve our focus, to become better at dealing with the excess of information.”

It was found that yoga, playing games, logic puzzles…all strengthen the ability to focus like a CEO.  Of course, all of these things require space and time to do…and they create more space and time  A double-whammy of awesome, all from simplifying life.

2.Meditation is essential. And…it’s hard to meditate in a storm of complications.   The one habit of super-successful people (think: Oprah) is a not-surprising meditation practice.  Clearing your mind is a vital practice for presence and power.   The list of hyper-successful meditators is very long and ever growing.  My favorite,  simple way to meditate is right HERE. 

3. Minimalism is easy to maintain.  What would you rather clean: a mansion packed with stuff or a great space that’s a little more cozy and only have what you need?  In a feng shui way, a smaller and more manageable home is more deeply connected to you… and it’s also less stress overall to maintain the space.  I’m not opposed to the mega-mansion, but even the greatest architectural monument homes in LA are not very big overall (decidedly small) in comparison to intense mansions. You can connect in a deeper way to the architecture in a focused space.

You can maintain Minimalism in every way- from your calendar to your refrigerator- far more easily.  That frees up lots of space and the rarest commodity of all: TIME.

4. Less choices can be less stressful.   Lots of us suffer from “decision fatigue.”  And the New York Times piece “Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue” breaks down this

“Decision fatigue helps explain why ordinarily sensible people get angry at colleagues and families, splurge on clothes, buy junk food at the supermarket and can’t resist the dealer’s offer to rustproof their new car. No matter how rational and high-minded you try to be, you can’t make decision after decision without paying a biological price. It’s different from ordinary physical fatigue — you’re not consciously aware of being tired — but you’re low on mental energy. The more choices you make throughout the day, the harder each one becomes for your brain, and eventually it looks for shortcuts, usually in either of two very different ways. One shortcut is to become reckless: to act impulsively instead of expending the energy to first think through the consequences. (Sure, tweet that photo! What could go wrong?) The other shortcut is the ultimate energy saver: do nothing. Instead of agonizing over decisions, avoid any choice.”  (whole illuminating article HERE) 

There’s definitely a danger in too much choice.  Way too many options = way too many chances to burn out on making decisions.

In my life, I’ve taken out the multiple choices.  I keep it very spare and easy. I have two kinds of tea in the pantry.  I tossed all my extra clothes to donation.  I say NO more often than I say YES.  If you can make a move to a little more simplicity is will pay off in a huge way.

5. You open up your life to precious greatness.  In simplicity you have the space in your life that will be occupied with more of the rare and amazing things like exhileration, wonder, inspiration and love.  This alone makes it all worth it!!!

In fact, it’s actually so much fun to live simply that you may at first feel like you’re slacking. Lean into the feeling. That wide-open life of possibility is amazing!

xoxo Dana

 

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And, if you want to dive in to your own personalized feng shui in a modern, practical way, Say hello to Feng Shui 101.  Its the guide I made for you to create your own personalized feng shui at home, in the office, wherever you may be… in 8 weeks.  It’s not filled with strict rules or what you “must” do.  Its filled with information, questions, exercises and even videos and classes to help you confidently create amazing spaces with killer feng shui and live with more flow.   Learn more about the 8-week feng shui adventure & grab your copy to get started right HERE…  And, as always, please let me know what happens!