Ever feel stressed even though you’ve “simplified” your life? If so, you’re not alone.

Maybe the issue is that simplification didn’t trickle down to your goals. If you’re anything like me, you have a lot you want to accomplish, some short term and others long term. Unfortunately, living simple with scores of goals isn’t exactly the best strategy. In fact, it’s downright counterproductive.

Why? Because too many goals makes you scatter your energies. Yes, you may be interested in all of them, but living simple is about awareness and focus. Let me explain with a story.

For the past few years I’ve wanted to become fluent in Spanish. After visiting Peru in 2009, I returned home more determined than ever to say more than “Hola, como esta?” So last year I did something about it and found a private tutor to teach me once a week. Full Spanish sentences here I come!

Then I did something else I’d always wanted to do: I started a blog. This blog. When I started Liv Simpl, I didn’t have many goals other than helping others live simple and becoming a better writer. But then–gasp!–I actually grew to like blogging and, well, I’ve become addicted. As my blog addiction grew, my Spanish began to suffer. Seriously…my last four Spanish lessons consisted of me stuttering “pero, pero…uhh, como se dice [random word I don't know]” for an hour, making up non-existent grammar and avoiding eye contact with my instructor. It had to stop. Finally, it came time to make a decision: keep having half-assed Spanish lessons or temporarily let go of my goal.

I chose to let it go.

Please don’t mistake my candid storytelling for apathy. I loved my Spanish class and my instructor was someone I genuinely looked forward to seeing each week. But sometimes we have to have the awareness to let go of something to focus on our passion.

Excitement = Keep It; Chronic Procrastination = Let It Go

One of the reasons I let go of my Spanish class was because I stopped getting excited about studying. Yes, I love the language and enjoy speaking it, but every week I waited until the last minute to study. It just wasn’t a priority anymore. So I chose to focus on what was exciting me right now: writing.

Excitement is an indicator that you’re enjoying yourself, that you’re moving in the right direction. Chronic procrastination means you’re not having fun and you probably don’t want to be doing what you’re doing. Hey, let’s just be honest: if that holds true for one of your goals, then it’s time to ask yourself if you really want to pursue that goal right now–maybe it’s time to let it go for a while.

Truly, Madly, Deeply

Of course, letting go of a goal means you have to be honest about how meaningful it is to you. Over the years, I’ve found that having less goals allows me to focus on the quality and meaning behind them. In other words, it’s easier to determine which goals I truly feel inspired and excited about when I have less. When I have more, they begin to look like a checklist and I begin to treat them as such.

Still, I usually begin each year by writing out all of the things I’d like to accomplish, then I focus in on the ones that I’m ecstatic about. My advice is that less is more and meaning matters. Try to focus on the goals that mean the most to you, because they are the ones that could change your life if you follow them madly.

You Can Always Come Back To It

Remember, just because you let something go doesn’t mean it’s unachievable. You can always come back to it when you have less on your plate.

How do you keep your goals simple?

Photo credit: Monkey Bar Kid | Takver | CC BY-SA 2.0

goals, less is more