Self discovery, reinvention and changing your attitude

This photo is completely off today's topic, it's a small view of our front garden. It's spring here so we have all sorts of flowers growing. Incorporating beauty into your life is an important part of living simply. But just so you know I've not gone completely flower crazy in the front garden, those leaves poking into the top right hand corner are avocado leaves and planted next to the avocado are rosellas (a type of hibiscus that we'll use the flowers of to make jam, tea and cordial) and radishes.

SELF DISCOVERY AND REINVENTION
As we mature we all have a certain view of ourselves and the life we live. Now that you’ve decided to change how you live, reassess your personal view of yourself. Look critically at your values and what you think is important to you and your family. Don’t be afraid to reinvent certain parts of your life. Your aspirations might have changed a lot over the last few years and things you’ve always known to be true about yourself and others may have changed.

If you’re in your twenties and don’t yet have a rigid idea of being a particular type of person, you’ll be starting with a clean slate. You are in the ideal position of having your entire adult life ahead and, therefore, would, theoretically, be in a position to gain the most from living simply. What you decide for yourself now could set you up for an interesting life that will not be burdened with credit card payments and the waste that many of us work through during our younger years. You are in the box seat, make the most of it.

But no matter what stage of life you're at, living simply will improve your life. There are many benefits to be discovered in living at a gentler pace and they are there no matter what age you are right now.

If you’ve thought in the past that your success meant living in a big house, driving an expensive car and living the high life, you should reassess that. Your new version of success may include learning about gardening, cooking or preserving. It may be to raise thoughtful children who love the simple life. Your new successes may be in paying off your mortgage years early and living debt-free, or learning how to live well on less.

You might start organising your time to better suit your new life so that you can include some volunteering or community work, you might enlarge your vegetable garden and grow a wider variety of fruit and vegetables to share with family and neighbours. You might learn a new language or teach your grandchildren to read. Whatever your interpretation of success is now, incorporate it into your life with enthusiasm and throw out old negative ideas.

And please be brave in your new life. If you now have different views to those close to you - your family and friends - tell them. Don't lock them out of your new life, try to bring them with you by explaining why you've changed and what you hope your life will become. They may not understand the need for change, they may even try to convince you not to change, but respect yourself and your new life enough to be proud of it.

CHANGING YOUR ATTITUDE
Although this might be one of the most difficult things to do, changing your attitude will help you adjust to your new life and in the long run, will give you real satisfaction. If you want to live simply because you’re not happy living the way you are now and you know things need to change, then a change of attitude will help you slide more easily into your new life. Attitude adjustment will facilitate many of the changes you’re about to make.

By now you probably realise that buying more and bigger things, upgrading to the latest version and being the first with the latest is like being on a never-ending treadmill. If you listen to those voices that tell you to consume, you’ll never be good enough or have enough; it will never end. It will take a conscious effort to get off that cycle of consumption and to be content with who you are and what you have. Change your idea of what success is and what will make you happy. What you see as success will always be just slightly out of reach if it is defined for you by magazines, TV, advertising or people you know.

Success isn’t being surrounded by expensive possessions; genuine achievement has a much more complex character. Success is feeling comfortable in your own skin, being satisfied by what you’ve accomplished, living according to your values and having the confidence to show the type of person you are. Real success is never defined by possessions, no matter how many times you hear that on TV, or from your relatives or friends.