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Welcome back to the Growing Tree of Life, our weekly exploration of personal growth and well-being.
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Issue Number: #080
Date: 6 August 2024
Reading Time: 4 minutes
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How to Create a Better Life
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You cannot create better life just by adding new things.
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You create a better life by first removing things.
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Start by simplifying your life. Remove the clutter and the unnecessary. Once that’s done, introduce better-quality things but in smaller quantities.
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If you’ve ever moved house, you know how much stuff you accumulate over the years. Being bipolar means I moved often and changed many things in my life. Each time I moved, I realised how much junk I had gathered. These items brought fleeting joy but were soon forgotten.
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So, I decided to reduce the number of things I introduced into my life.
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I divided my life into several areas and simplified each one separately. This created more living space and made my life easier and more enjoyable because I kept only what genuinely made me happy for the long term.
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Have you ever bought something on impulse, put it on display at home, and then forgotten about it? Women, how many pairs of shoes or handbags do you have? How often do you wear them? Men, how many of your tools do you seldom use? Accumulating items brings temporary joy but those things soon become just more stuff bloating your life and hindering your growth.
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Now, let's talk about simplifying different areas of life and how it helps. We'll start with time management.
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Time Management
Freeing up time allows you to focus on what’s important.
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Often, people say they don't have time or money to achieve their goals. By freeing up time, you can focus on creating additional income, thus eliminating these excuses.
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Simplifying your time involves focusing on what’s most important to you. To do this, understand who you are and what values you cherish. Identify activities that bring joy and those that are beneficial for you and your loved ones.
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You might recall a viral video of a teacher filling a glass jar with stones, gravel, and sand to illustrate priorities. The stones represent the most important things in life; if you fill your jar with sand first (the least important things), there’s no room for the stones. But if you start with the stones, everything else fits around them.
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But to be able to select what is important to you, you need to understand yourself—your abilities, skills, and knowledge—and how to expand on them. This self-awareness is crucial for personal growth.
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When I started this journey, I focused on who I was and what was important to me. Then I tackled my finances.
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Finances
I started by cancelling unnecessary subscriptions, saving around £300 a month. This was crucial when my income dropped; without those savings, I'd have been in trouble.
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I have a challenge for you regarding your finances.
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Take a look at your bank and credit card statements and see how many subscriptions you have.
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And those you use, in what proportion do you use them?
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Wouldn't it be cheaper to pay per single use instead?
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For instance, if you subscribe to three streaming services, how many movies do you actually watch? Wouldn't cutting down to just one service save you money and time?
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Simplifying your finances can save you money and time, and reduce stress.
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Physical Space
I also simplified my physical space by getting rid of broken or unwanted items.
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Some I threw away and some I gave away through Freecycle—a website where people can offer things for free. This reduced my worries and made my environment more pleasant and efficient.
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Nutrition
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In terms of health, I adopted intermittent fasting—eating less, less often, and focusing on quality food.
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There is a saying: "you cannot outrun your fork." And it is true. I have shed 17 kg by simply changing my eating habits.
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Think about how bloated you feel after overeating during festive seasons like Christmas or Thanksgiving. On the other hand, think how removing excess from your body always makes you feel better. Be it when you feel sick and throw up or when you relieve yourself. It always feels better. Your body gets rid of the things that weigh you down and make you feel bloated and sluggish.
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This principle applies to all areas of life: removing unnecessary things improves your well-being. After decluttering, focus on adding high-quality items in lower quantities.
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Relationships
Lastly, simplify your relationships. Avoid spending too much time with people who drain your energy. Instead, spend more time with those who uplift you and whom you can help grow as well. It's not just about benefiting yourself; helping others also benefits you.
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By focusing on meaningful relationships—whether family or friends—you ensure mutual growth and support.
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Today's Tip:
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Remove the unnecessary from your life first. Then add back only high-quality elements in smaller quantities for a simpler, happier life.
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Focus on simplifying your time, finances, physical space, nutrition, and relationships. Thank me later.
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That’s all for today. Thank you for reading, and see you next Tuesday.
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Lubo
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