Author: cbarney.45

Reduce what you purchase and what you consume. We are constantly bombarded with new gadgets, new information, and single serving/single use items. Reduce the amount of products and information that you consume for a simpler life. Examples of this: reduce your media consumption to focus on real-life interactions; reduce the amount of plastic water bottles that you use to help the planet (less energy to make the bottles, less pollution when getting rid of the bottles, less money to spend on the bottles).

Reuse what you already have or what you are purchasing. If you can reuse an item multiple times before discarding it, it will not only help your wallet, but will also help the environment. Example: Use a refillable water bottle that you can reuse over and over again.

Recycle what you can once you are done reusing it. Sometimes things break or it is time to discard them. When that time comes, try to recycle that product. Again, it goes back to energy production to make a product AND not polluting the world we know with more junk. If we keep making new things and only dispose of our old things via junk yards and landfills, eventually we will run out of space and ruin the earth. Examples: Donate clothes and toys to charity (even though you may have outgrown these items, it doesn’t mean that someone else can’t use them); recycle plastic bottles, cans, etc.

Parkinson’s Law says that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” What this means is that if you have one task to complete (like writing a term paper in college) and it is due in 4 weeks, you will take 4 weeks to complete this. But if you’re given 48 hours to complete it? Guess what…you’ll probably complete it in 48 hours and it be nearly as good of a paper. 

The reason I bring this up is because I feel that it relates to busy people and non-busy people. Busy people have a long To Do list and manage to complete it all in a day. They keep moving until it is done and don’t realize how tired they are until they sit down at night. Non-busy people have a shorter To Do list. They complete their list in the same amount of time as the busy people, but because they are not stimulated (not moving as much, not taking as much action), they have more time to focus on them being tired. 

Action leads to energy. Being busy leads to getting more done (being productive). If I don’t have anything to do and I don’t have any interests to pursue, I feel tired. But if I have a lot to do and many interests, I am able to get them done with all the energy I need, then am able to relax and sleep well. I think that you’ll find the same thing.

So which will you choose to be? Busy? Or not?

Luke 12:15 – Then Jesus said to them, “watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

Be careful to place too much value on material objects. Life is more than owning things. If you begin to determine the value of yourself based on the things you own, you prioritize the wrong things. Value your time by doing things you enjoy with people you love. This does not require you to spend any money and helps to put your life in proper perspective. Make sure that you’re not putting too much emphasis on the wrong things…what is truly important?

Failing is not a bad thing. In fact, often times, it’s a very good thing. You learn most by failure. You learn what not to do, can make tweaks, then try again. But the key is to fail quickly. 

While you won’t ever reach a state of perfection, let’s say that it takes you three tries (or more), on average, to be “successful” in something. Would you rather fail once, go back to the drawing board for a year (not because that’s how long it takes to make corrective actions, but because you aren’t focused and are procrastinating), fail again, take another year to revise your plan, and then finally succeed? 

Or, can you focus all of your energy on your project, try again within a month, fail, tweak, then try again to succeed? 

In this extremely simple example, you would end up with the same result, but in scenario 1 it would take you three years to achieve success, whereas in scenario 2 it would only take three months. 

If you fail quickly, you can get to your desired outcome more quickly. Do not expect perfection. It will never come. People often pose as “perfectionists” when really they are procrastinators. They are putting off implementing their new program because they are afraid that it won’t be good enough. And they’re right. Chances are, in the beginning, a lot of things will be wrong. But you have to get started, otherwise you’ll never get to your destination. 

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” – Muhammad Ali

“If failure is not an option, then, most of the time, neither is success.” – Seth Godin

You need to take calculated risks to get ahead in life. The more risks you take, the more likely you are to trip and stumble. But, as long as you pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep going, you’re also more likely to make the most out of this life. 

If you don’t take risks, if failure is not an option and you’re playing too cautiously/conservatively, be prepared to live a life of mediocrity. You will blend in with the crowd, disappearing into nothingness.