If you are familiar with Jewish culture, then you may not be
mystified. If you are mystified that's okay. The Jews had a list of laws
in addition to the Bible. There were 613
laws, or what I like to call “commitments.”
These commitments were a burden.
If you ask me, life can get cluttered pretty quickly, especially when
you are trying to make lifestyle changes.
If you remember, I spoke in my blog post about my core values,
and I mentioned that part of being simple for me was about de-cluttering.
I de-cluttered my belongings, time thieves, and spiritual
commitments. This helped me to free my
mind for change. Let’s look at each one
of these areas.
My Belongings
There is one thing that my dad often said, and it has stuck with
me over the years. He would say, “The
more you make, the more it takes.” We
were talking about money, but in reality the principle applies to anything. For instance, the more stuff you collect, the
more it takes to keep it all organized or running. My wife and I have moved quite a bit over the
past few years, and we always purge.
It is a little sad but so freeing! I have learned not to toss everything though,
as there are some “commitments” worth keeping.
Time Thieves
One of the best things that my wife and I ever did was dump our
television and video games. They steal
so much time. I find that being
productive is much more relaxing and rewarding versus the alternative. Don’t get me wrong, there can be some
beneficial things on television, but the majority is time wasting.
Another way I de-clutter time thieves is by limiting how often I
visit Facebook and email. A click and
scroll here stifles productivity and before you know it, you’re sucked in to
idleness.
Spiritual Commitments
Not all commitments are bad.
Like I said, some are worth keeping around. On the other hand this one can be a special
trap. From church positions, church
functions, study groups, and the list goes on, life can get cluttered here. Not to mention if you are trying to keep
track of all the changes you need to make personally.
At one time I was in three or four major positions at church,
giving Bible studies, and in church every time the doors were open. I was not performing at any of my positions with excellence, and my family life was suffering.
Something had to go. I have
learned some neat ways to prevent over-cluttering, and I will share those in my
next blog post.
The problem in lifestyle change is that you can become so
cluttered with stuff, events, and positions that you are totally unable to put
forth the energy required to succeed. I
would like to encourage you to simplify your life and consider the areas where
you could de-clutter. Then focus in on a
few things and do them with excellence. Also, a good dose of serving others is very energizing and revealing. After you have incorporated those into your life, then move forward with
the next attempt to Break your Nature.
By the way, feel free to share some areas that you de-clutter, or
areas that you need to de-clutter?
Nick
Massey is a Life Coach, Speaker, and Writer.
To read more from Nick Massey, or to schedule him for a Life Coaching
session, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our
website at http://www.coachmassey.com. © 2014 Nick Massey
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