Did you ever notice how great the banana is? How it fits so nicely into your hand; how just by looking at it you can tell if it is ready to eat? Did you ever realize it has a built in pull tab for easy opening, the peel separates and falls back so gracefully and it’s even curved toward your face for easy consumption? Yes, it doesn’t get much better than the simple yellow banana.
For all the effectiveness the banana has to offer in its tight yellow package there is not much about it you can offer as a complaint; in fact the packaging is even biodegradable. So my question to you is how can you make your life simpler? What can you do to make everything you in your life as effective as the banana has? The answer is easy; it is execution that’s the hard part.
Going on an Information Diet:
“You don’t need to know everything; you just need to know where to go to get it.”
- Watch a little less television.
- Skip the morning paper occasionally.
- Cut down on some of your internet time.
Think about it; do you really remember everything you read, watched or listened to at the end of the day? And of the things you do remember how important are they to your life? Does it really affect your life when a celebrity cheats on his wife? Unless you are his agent or he is endorsing your product, I’m guessing not. So why spend time cluttering your mind with information that is going to be yesterday’s news – tomorrow?
Instead spend some time with your family and friends or take some time for yourself to relax.
Apply the 80/20 rule:
Pareto’s Law says 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. This or similar ratios apply to most things in life.
- 80% of your life’s complication is caused by 20% of….
- 70% of your stress is created by 30% of….
- 90% of your happiness comes from 10% of….
Think about what you can eliminate to remove the complicated stressful parts of your life and apply the extra time toward those things which make you happy and add simplicity to your existence.
Be in Control:
“You can’t control everything that happens in the world but you can control your response to it.”
Be in control of yourself. If someone is trying to argue with you; the only person who can allow you to get upset about what they are saying, is you! If you are feeling stress about an upcoming event, this may happen or that might go wrong; guess what? Those things are out of your control! What are you accomplishing by worrying about them? Have a contingency plan and move on.
All too often we get worked-up about things in life we have no control over, take time to assess the situation, determine if there is anything you can do to affect the outcome and if the answer is no, then let it go. Take control of you life and put your efforts toward the things you can contribute to and make your life simpler.
Once you start to let it all go, you will feel the stress dissipating and your mind focusing on what is truly important Let your own built-in effectiveness take over; the banana did it, why can’t you?
What are you going to do right now, to make your life simpler?
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Jason Christensen is National Accounts Manager for The Stanley Works.
He can be reached at [email protected]
Image Sources: medicalcravings.com, topic.slsknet.org
I recently read an article by Darren Hardy, founder of Success Magazine, who essentially wrote some of the same things. He talks about how we can change the world by taking control of our schedules: 1. Turn off the TV 2. Turn off the radio. It’s so easy to do ‘busywork’ without working on the things that really matter.