It's a minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily, Episode 297. Make a change by choosing less, more, or none by Courtney Carver of bmorewithless.com and I'm Justin Molick. Welcome to Optimal Living Daily, the podcast where I read to you from the best blogs I can find, covering personal development, healthier living, minimalism, productivity, and more. And now let's jump right into today's post and start optimizing your life.
Make a change by choosing less, more, or none by Courtney Carver of bmorewithless.com. I know people who are considering small shifts, creating new habits, and or are on the brink of a big transformation. While some of this stuff happens organically, most of it requires a framework. Choating where you are makes it much easier to go where you want to be.
If you want to change your diet, work, relationships, or other areas of your life, get your notebook out because it's time to make a list. Choosing what you want less, more, or none of will help you create an environment for the change you desire. As I've been making cuts to make room for things that matter to me, I've noticed a pattern. What doesn't stay the same falls into three categories, less, more, or none.
It sounds obvious, but until you see it on paper, it's hard to identify what needs to go where. Making this list will help you clearly see what's in your life that it's not adding to, or even stealing, love, health, energy, creativity, joy, sleep, focus, clarity, purpose. The list will also help you see what's missing. Less, more, or none.
Make three lists on one piece of paper, and immediately file things into three categories. Less, more, or none. Once you do that, keep the list close by for the next few days and observe what's going on. Do you want to shift anything from one category to the next?
Anything new to add that you didn't think about on the first round? Use your list to create the environment necessary for transformation. Following is my list. Like all of my experiments, I'll be watching closely to see what's working, what's not, and what requires adjustments.
None. An article from Gretchen Rubin says, quote, near a moderator if you find that occasional indulgence heightens your pleasure and strengthens your resolve, or you get panicky at the thought of never getting or doing something. You're an abstainer if you have trouble stopping something once you've started and aren't tempted by things that you've decided are off limits, unquote. I'm an abstainer because I'd much prefer to eliminate the temptation.
I think a sleeve of thin mints is a single serving, so I didn't order Girl Scout cookies this year. I'm happier than I would have been if they were in the freezer calling my name all day. I'd rather have none than one. On my none list?
Alcohol. I enjoy wine and fun cocktails, but I can't overlook the fact that while alcohol makes me feel fun and relaxed, it also makes me feel tired and fuzzy. I want clarity right now, and wine doesn't contribute to that. Snacking.
I can easily graze my way from one meal to the next, but I feel better when I stick to eating during meals only. Then I don't have to focus on what I should or shouldn't eat between meals, and I'm more aware about what I actually eat over the course of a day. Extra inboxes. It can be a struggle to keep up with email alone, so I'm putting a stop to the inflow from other directions like Facebook messages.
Some people say you have to be everywhere to be successful, but I'm beginning to see that you compromise connection when you're everywhere. Reacting isn't connecting. Less. As an abstainer, I know that there are certain foods like Girl Scout cookies and other sweets that are pretty much off limits, but I can manage less of some things.
My last list. Chips and salsa. This has been my go-to salty indulgence lately. I can enjoy them occasionally, but not daily.
Social media. I did a 10-day social media fast earlier this year and realized I can be more present in my work if I'm less present on social media. Stuff. I'll admit, there isn't much more to get rid of, but I'll continue to pare down.
There's nothing I've let go of that I wish I'd kept. More. The purpose of cutting out things that don't contribute to health, wellness, love, purpose, good work, and creativity, whatever that looks like to you, is to make time and space for everything that does. I'm not missing the irony here that I want more and more instead of more less right now, but that is part of the path I'm on.
You can see the path I was on yesterday and the photo in this post. On my more list. Greens. Smoothies, salads, and soups will be the core of my daily diet, and there'll be greens at every meal.
Hikes and walks. Spring has sprung, and I'm looking for five miles or more every day of my feet on the dirt or pavement. Writing. There's always more writing.
Great books. I'm reading Man's Search for Meaning, and you can see what I've read recently at being more with less.com. Bookjoy. Laughter.
More funny things that aren't on YouTube. Meditating. It's time to go deep. Cuts.
There are always more cuts. Not doing. When I realized how challenging this was, I knew I needed more. Connection.
I love this community. I'm so grateful for our connection. It fuels my work and makes me smile 100 times a day. I've also really been enjoying one-on-one connections with my new coaching offering and more regular phone calls and better connections with friends.
I want more of all of that because I know that it's in the connection that the magic happens. Gratitude. There's always room to be more grateful. Your list will probably look different from mine, and my list in a month or so might look different from this.
For today, though, this is where I am. Identifying what I want less, more, or none of helps me commit to change in growth. It removes the guesswork, the, well, maybe just one, and any confusion about what I want to do with my time and energy. You just listen to the post titled Make a Change by Choosing Less, More, or None by Courtney Carver at BMoreWithLess.com.
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And I'll leave that at try to keep these in the most Mondays as minimal as possible, so have a great rest of your day and I'll see you in tomorrow's show where your optimal life awaits.