Our Word of the Year: Simplicity

This year has started with complete changes for us. I had to leave my job (which formed the basis for everything we have done for the past five years) and I am now looking for a new job (which may mean a new career path). My wife’s company was sold, and that has brought changes to her work, with more potential changes on the way. So, as we have started this new year, we have been evaluating and re-evaluating every thing we do.

            Before the new year began, I started listing some goals I have for the new year. These were divided into a few categories, including health, mental well-being, and spiritual categories. However, as we have started to walk through this new year, my wife said that she wanted a year in which things were more simple. That idea has really taken hold with us, and so simplicity has become our objective for this year.

            What does it mean to live a simple life? There could be many definitions, but for us, it means that we are eliminating extraneous things from our lives to live in a less cluttered way. This means that we are doing some of the obvious things that come with a simple lifestyle. For example, we are cleaning a lot of “junk” out of our home. We are evaluating what we really need, and what we may want, but not need. We are trying to eat at home much more often. We are living on a budget. We are finding those things we enjoy, and then building those things into our lives.

            We still maintain a busy lifestyle. Actually, our kids help us maintain a busy lifestyle with their extracurricular activities. But, we also find ways to enjoy each other and really take advantage of our “family time.” I think the difference is not a dramatic change in our active lifestyle, but a change in why we do things. We fell into the trap of doing things to please others. I often felt with my work that I had to please so many people, that I often lost hold on who I was. I was working to please others (which didn’t work out well), and I was losing myself, and my family, in the process. Now, we are living life with a different purpose: to do those things that make us, and not others, happy. So, I am learning to say “no” to those things that are not best for me or best to achieve our dreams.

            Much of this process has involved coming up a vision plan and a mission statement, and then putting some bones to that skeleton with defined goals. We have not figured everything out in a couple of weeks, but the process is bringing us some hope, and helping us do those things that matter most. Having a dream and a vision is really freeing. Seeing progress toward those dreams by achieving some goals gives me some security and confidence. And all of these make me a better family member.

            Here’s to a simple (and fulfilling) year.