Simplifying more than 'stuff'

I like to organize and simplify 'things' but sometimes we need to simplify our lives in general.  When you hit that "everything is stressing me out" feeling, you know it's time to take a step back and evaluate your day-to-day life.

If you could watch your life from an observer's perspective--what would it look like?

Hitting the snooze button a few times, dragging yourself out of bed--too exhausted to truly be present with your kids, frantically rushing out the door, running kids to school and yourself to work, trying to play catch-up with your to-do list, rushing through lunch to finish more work, picking kids up from school and running to activities, trying to quickly make dinner (or hitting the drive-thru), finishing up more work, getting kids ready for bed, cleaning up from dinner, getting to bed too late...restless night of sleep...waking up and repeating it all over again...???

Believe me, I fall into this category completely!  The 'always doing something' category.

It's partly my personality, partly anxiety, partly 'not-wanting-to-really-face-issues-that-need-attention' syndrome.  But if I take the time to just stop--truly stop--for 10 minutes, 2 minutes, even 30 seconds--it helps bring everything back into perspective.  

When we rush from one thing to the next, to the next, to the next...and never give our minds (or bodies) a chance to take a breather, it can wear out our lives to the point of causing chronic stress and anxiety issues.  And then how do we handle that?  By doing 'more' to compensate for the feelings of being out of control.  It's weird how we, as humans, tend to do the opposite of what our minds and bodies really need.  

Stressed about weight?  We eat.

Depressed and lonely?  We shut ourselves inside and watch tv.

Sleep deprived?  We drink coffee and stay up too late.

When we can stop and just BE--just for a minute--we can focus on what we truly need.  And if we can meet that specific need--the true need--not what our craving is telling us, or our anxiety is telling us--then we can give our minds and bodies what they need and stop doing/thinking/saying detrimental things. 

But how do we find the time to stop and just be?

We simplify our lives:

Turn off the tv.

Say 'no' to things we don't really want to do.

Clear out the clutter.

Schedule down time.

Go to bed earlier.

Say 'yes' to things we really want to do.

{This may sound counterproductive--but if you can do things you love to do--it can give you energy and motivation because it's fulfilling and rewarding.}

Simplifying the 'stuff' helps us simplify our lives...but sometimes we need to go one step further and simplify our daily schedules.  

So...How will you simplify your life this week?