“The Simplicity Lifestyle” by Ted Wind
Welcome To The Simplicity Lifestyle!
Simplicity is the Key!
Why I Write About Living A Simple Life
Hello, my name is Ted Wind, aka Mr. Simplicity, and I’m a Personal and Professional Development Coach and Blogger.
I‘m also a disabled Army Veteran with a degree in Organizational Management who would like to share with you some extremely important life lessons that I’ve learned over the course of my life.
Suffering comes from living a life of attachment, and living a wholistic, healthy, and free life is the cure.
Simplicity is the Key to living a life that is Joyful and free!
Minimalism is the way to Simplicity. Minimalism is the practice of being intentional with what We allow to stay in Our lives and what We allow into our lives.
Like muddy water, life becomes unclear when We have too much clutter. When We get rid of all of the useless mental and physical clutter what is truly important becomes very clear.
We know when We’re not living a life that is aligned with Our fundamental values because We become unhappy with the present moment. When We become aware of this We can make changes so We can begin to go in the right direction!
The Simply Minimalist Journey
The journey towards Our best selves may, at times, seem long and difficult but every step We take will feel right and meaningful.
Minimalism helps clear the path from distractions on Our individual journeys. Minimalism also gives Us permission to be happier with less. Minimalists believe in quality over quantity.
The biggest regrets that many people have at the end of their lives are:
-They wish that they let themselves be happier.
-They wish they stayed in touch with their friends.
-They wish they had the courage to express their feelings.
-They wish they hadn’t worked so hard.
-They wish they had the courage to live a life true to themselves, not the life that others expected of them.
Minimalism helps with all of these wishes because We have more time, money, and freedom. Minimalism can also help identify, clarifying, and change negative habitual thinking to positive thinking.
It’s like We have a kayak and paddle, We can’t choose Our kayak and paddle. The river We are going down has rapids on one side and has no rapids on the other. We can choose which side We want to kayak depending on Our equipment and skill levels.
During My journey down The River Of Life My kayak and paddle got badly damaged so I’ve had to switch from the rapids to the calm side.
Minimalism can be a path to truly enjoying life!
-We will stop being Our biggest critics.
-We will stop comparing Ourselves to others.
-We will stop worrying about the future.
-We will stop ruminating about the past.
-We will stop expecting too much of others.
Instead We will be truly present in the moment, and be Mindful not Mind Full. We can live a life of intentionality.
Minimalism empowers Us!
Instead of reacting to things We can proactively create the life We have always wanted!
It may take a good amount of time and effort but it will be absolutely worth it!
Minimalism allows Us to live a life with purpose, priority, and productivity.
Like waves eroding a cliff, intentional actions can take down mountains!
The five areas we must work on to live a simple, healthy, fulfilling, and wholistic life are Our health, Our relationships, Our creativity, Our growth, and Our contributions.
So let’s get started living up to Our fundamental values and setting up routines that Our future selves will be proud of!
Living A Healthy Minimalist Lifestyle!
Simply Happy, Healthy, Humans
There’s a big difference from living a healthy lifestyle and living a pleasure seeking and pain avoiding lifestyle.
Pleasure is the short term gratification of wants that probably have long term consequences.
True contentment comes from having healthy habits and healthy relationships.
Minimalism isn’t just the clearing away of physical objects in Our lives, We can also implement minimalism in other areas of Our lives.
After I embraced the ideology of Minimalism and I was done getting rid of all the things I didn’t care for and didn’t have a purpose for in my life, it became very obvious to me that my life was off track.
-I wasn’t exercising enough.
-I wasn’t eating healthy food.
-I wasn’t drinking enough water.
-I wasn’t getting enough sleep.
-I also had several addictions that were not healthy for my mind and my body.
I decided to change each of these negative habits one at a time!
We all have bodies, and in order for Our bodies to operate at optimum levels We need to take care of Our bodies. Our bodies need enough exercise, healthy and nutritious food, clean drinking water, and enough sleep and relaxation.
Sadly, modern life has become so busy and hectic that We neglect Our bodies while We rush around putting out fires all day every day.
This is not a sustainable way of doing things and eventually We will burn out, especially as We get older.
Living At Breakneck Speeds
I lived a fast and reckless existence all the way up until my back literally gave out.
Five years ago I went to a surgeon because I was in so much pain that I couldn’t stand existing in that state anymore. I had two fractures, a slipped disk, and Bilateral Stenosis. My nerves were being pinched so I was having continuous shots of pain and numbness down my legs. Sometimes the pain was so intense I couldn’t breath. I ended up having surgery despite my young age. The fusion and rods helped stabilize my instabilities but the pain persisted. Now it hurts if I stand, sit, or walk longer than fifteen minutes, then I have to ice my back and lay flat for thirty minutes to an hour.
My chronic pain has made it impossible for me to live my life the way I used to.
Minimalism has helped me simplify things to a manageable level!
Three years ago I was a mess. I was a hundred pounds overweight, I was addicted to Opiates for pain, I was extremely depressed and angry about my “new normal.”
I had spoken to my surgeon and he had asked me if I had accepted the fact that I will never be out of pain again and it will probably get worse as I get older.
One horrible night I found myself in my car the engine running, my windows down, and the garage door closed. I had, had enough, but as tears rushed down my bearded face and I began feeling a little light headed I couldn’t stop thinking about my Wife and Daughter and how IT would effect them. Instinctively, I grabbed my phone and called the VA Crisis Line. They had me open the garage door and talked me into going to the Emergency Room.
I had been in and out of Inpatient Facilities for several years, but this time was different.
This time I wanted to live!
I had a choice to make. Did I want to live the rest of my life as a depressed, angry, toxic, and lonely person or did I want to have a healthy, loving, fulfilling, and free life with my family despite my chronic issues?
I love my family and the last thing I wanted to do was push them away.
For me, the answer was obvious.
There’s Only One Way To Go After Hitting Rock Bottom
When We hit rock bottom the only way We can go is up.
Going up can be extremely difficult when We’re climbing a mountain. It’s best not to think about the entire journey to the top, instead We can point ourselves in the right direction and only think about one step at a time.
So let’s make a plan and divide it into small actions that will ultimately lead to Our goals, We just need to make sure to look up every once in a while and make sure We’re still headed in the right direction.
I made a plan but first I had to simplify and clarify the actions that I needed to take.
First I decided to be more intentional with my things. I only kept what I continually used or truly enjoyed having and I stopped purchasing new things unless it was to replace what I continually used. I quickly realized that I had everything I needed, but I was not living a healthy lifestyle, so I decided to quit the pain killers.
I began feeling better after a couple horrible months suffering from withdrawals, so I decided to drink more water and quit drinking coffee and reduced the sweets I allowed myself to indulge in.
Two months later my Wife and I decided to quit eating gluten because we were both having stomach issues. Our stomach issues almost completely disappeared and I lost twenty pounds in one month.
My Wife and I began walking every morning for exercise and practicing good breathing habits and mindfulness meditation every day.
To remain healthy and alive Our bodies need exercise, rest, healthy food, clean water, and fresh air!
Some of us forget the importance of taking good care of Our minds and Our bodies and it begins to show in Our health.
Breathe In The Light And Out The Dark
One of the most important actions We must take on a continual basis, otherwise We will die, is breathing.
Most of the time Our breathing is unconscious.
Our breathing can become quick and shallow, even stop for a little while as Our daily stresses present themselves. This is extremely unhealthy for Our bodies and minds.
Taking deep slow breaths is a good way to center Ourselves again and make sure that Our cells are getting the proper amount of oxygen so they can do their job at an optimum level.
Breathing slowly and deeply helps Our parasympathetic nervous system. Helping Us rest, relax, rejuvenate, and detox.
When We breathe deeply We don’t change the volume of the air going into Our lungs, but We slow Our breath down. We change the conscious direction of airflow gently, slightly displacing Our upper abdomen, and We breathe slowly naturally, and not regimented.
As We get conscious control of Our breathing again We naturally begin to relax and feel centered, the world, as Our senses perceive it, becomes a little clearer and less chaotic.
A Little R And R Never Hurt Anyone
Rest and relaxation are essential for contentment, happiness, and gratitude!
Taking a simple five to thirty minutes a day for a time out can have many benefits.
Making small meditation brakes a habit helps a whole lot with chronic pain, memory, attention, and intention control, and remaining calm and clearheaded throughout the day.
Meditation can help increase enjoyment and positive well being, it decreases depression, and it is a great way for Us to have a respite from Our daily frustrations and worries.
Mindfulness Meditation exercises have Us direct Our attention to Our sensations, thoughts, and emotions We are experiencing in the moment. We still may feel Our pains to some extent but while We are engaging in Mindfulness Our attention is less on the pain and more on Our slow breaths and when Our attention wanders We can gently tell Our minds to come back to the moment and just experience the present.
Meditation also increases Our awareness of Our physical tensions and negative thoughts.
Many of Us are tense and stressed but We’ve become so accustomed to the ever present anxiety levels that We barely notice them anymore.
Stress and anxiety are usually not needed on a twenty four hour basis so these automatic responses have become unhealthy when it comes to Our well being and long term peace and contentment. We can’t fix a problem that We are not aware of until We take a good look at the problem one by one and make a conscious decisions for change.
By practicing meditation and experiencing what it feels like to really let go momentarily and become deeply relaxed We are learning how to become more aware of Our own individual subtle signs of physical and mental tensions.
Many toxic, negative, and distorted thoughts are automatic, and easily take up our mental real estate. I have been learning to be Mindful not Mind Full. By becoming more aware of Our bodies and mental activity throughout the day We can learn to see the signs of stress and tension as cues or reminders to take a quick meditation break.
Meditation exercises also help with sleep, which is extremely important, and it can change Our personal perceptions and offer a new perspective about Our own personal suffering.
Pain that is no longer connected to negative habitual thinking becomes more tolerable. It’s exhausting to suffer from chronic pain but it is that much more exhausting with a whole lot of negative thoughts and emotions dragging us down.
Through Mindfulness Meditation I’ve learned that most of my thoughts and feelings are just habits that I’ve formed throughout my life and with some intentional effort and actions habits can be changed.
We can choose to breathe in Positivity and out Negativity. We are again in the driver seat and can choose how We react to Our environment in the moment.
Recently I’ve been working on my sleep habits because it is extremely important to have good and restful sleep in order to be healthy.
Also I’ve been reducing my screen time and I’ve become very picky with the type of TV shows I watch.
Living a Minimalist and Intentional life has and continues to allow me to have more control of my body, mind, and even my finances.
Simplifying my life has helped me find my balanced center and know that peace, calm, love, joy, and serenity is my natural state of being, despite always being in pain.
Financial Health Through Simplicity and Minimalism
Escaping The Rat Race
I grew up as an only child to a single mother in a small town in the Midwest.
I got my first jobs at eleven years old stocking the book shelves at the local Library and working for a local Janitor that was a really good family friend. A lot of the money I made went to food and clothing for myself.
I was never taught how to have my hard earned money make more money.
In high school I worked as a housekeeper and at a local clothing store. I was told that the only way for me to get promoted or get a better job was for me to go to a four year University.
In college I studied psychology and economics, but even though I was working two jobs and had a partial scholarship I couldn’t pay for a third year.
I ended up joining the Army so I could finish my degree after my four years of service were up. (Ten years later I finally finished my degree in Organizational Management, it turns out that it’s really hard to go back to college as an older adult) In the Army I became a Medic and did one tour overseas.
I still didn’t know how to invest my money so that money could make more money.
After the military I tried to live a normal civilian life with a family and mortgage but I couldn’t keep up with all the working it takes to pay for those things.
After moving around a lot and many failed jobs my back finally gave out five years ago, I couldn’t work so I had to go on disability.
Living with a fixed income has forced me and my Wife to rethink our relationship with money.
We were forced to budget, plan, save, and invest.
I’ve read many, many books on how to live frugally and grow wealth.
For the past five years We have learned so much about how to escape “the rat race.”
Transcending A Fixed Income Mindset
Three years ago my Wife and I always felt like We were broke, just trying to make it to the first of every month, something had to change, but what?
We had no Idea what direction to take.
Finally my Wife and I were so fed up that We decided to make a budget!
In order to budget We had to get a clear view of All the money coming into the household and All the money going to expenses. (At this time We had no income producing assets)
We made a list of essential fixed expenses, like mortgage, phone, car insurance, water, and electricity, and nonessential expenses, like subscription services.
We then made a list of All the expenses that were not fixed, like food and recreation.
It was truly eye opening to see how We spent Our money.
We then wrote down a plan on how We would begin saving and what We would do with Our savings, like having an account for emergencies and acquiring income producing assets and assets that gain in value over time.
Then my Wife and I took action!
We temporarily got rid of All Our subscriptions, except internet and a couple streaming services.
We temporarily stopped going out for food and coffee and started meal prepping, which ended up saving Us thousands and We only made Our own coffee and meals for one year.
We even got creative with a couple things, like switching out paper napkins with cloth napkins for a little while.
Every month We bought more and more dividend paying stocks.
Soon the dividends started to pay for some of Our subscription services and a little extra for investing in assets that had a high probability of gaining in value and other financial opportunities that popped up!
In the beginning it was really difficult to change Our high consumer habits of going out for coffee and food and buying expensive nonessential things, but over time it became easier and easier!
As the snowball starts to grow larger and larger it begins to take on it’s own momentum and We can have the extra time and freedom to pursue Our own interests and passions not caring if We will get monetary compensation or not.
Make a budget, write down a plan, and Start Saving your hard earned income!
It’s worth it! Trust me!
Getting Your Family Excited About Financial Independence
It’s much easier to make lifestyle changes when We’re young and don’t have as many responsibilities.
If you’re young, don’t have bills to pay, and don’t have a family you need to provide for, you have the opportunity to change your financial situation pretty easily and quickly.
If We have significant others and children to think about it’s much harder to start steering the boat in another direction.
A whole lot more planning and, most importantly, respectful communication is needed. Everyone in the family must be on board. It can be a tough sell to tell Our families that in order to save money for investing that money can’t be spent on unnecessary stuff.
We are notoriously bad at forgoing instant gratification for a future that is much more gratifying. It doesn’t always help to say that Our future selves and even possibly grandchildren and great grandchildren will thank Us, even if it’s completely true.
In order to get Our families singing the same financial tune as Us a little preparation will probably be needed. If everyone is rowing in different directions it’s really difficult to reach a specific goal.
When I had, had enough of living paycheck to paycheck I scheduled a “family meeting” with my Wife and Our Daughter to have a real discussion about Our financial future.
I had been reading a whole lot of books about financial literacy and had been taking notes. I decided that my ultimate goal should be to decrease money spent on liabilities and expenses so I could acquire income producing assets and assets that increased in value over time until We were financially independent.
I started by clearly writing down my goal in a financial planning notebook.
Then I wrote down everything I learned about investing and growing wealth and made it as simple and as clear as possible.
Then I made a preliminary budget using Our bank statements from several months to get a general idea about where Our money was going.
I then made a list of essential expenses and nonessential expenses to get an idea about where the savings could come from. Deciding what habits I felt We could and couldn’t change to create an investment account based on Our present situation.
After writing all of this down in my financial planning notebook I felt more prepared to talk with my Wife and Daughter, keeping in mind that some compromises and slight deviations to the plan would take place.
Now We have these family meetings once a month on a specific day, to make slight adjustments and reaffirm Our Ultimate Goal.
We allow everyone, especially Our Daughter, to ask questions and have a say.
We discuss Our intentions and plans until they become simple, clear, and to the point.
We don’t blame or “point fingers.”
We are All willing to listen and compromise if needs be.
We also decided to schedule a reward every once in a while, like eating out or getting a toy for Our Daughter, so We didn’t feel too deprived. We don’t want to lessen Our quality of life too much, just change some bad financial habits in order to start investing.
It’s also a good idea to make lists.
Lists help Us get some of the chaos under control and they make it possible for Us to think about Our goals and not all the little things. Decision fatigue is a real motivation killer, lists help because all We have to do is act and We don’t need to expend Our energy “reinventing the wheel.” Our family makes lists for everything from daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly “to do lists” to a “base grocery list” so We can stick to Our food budget easier.
It’s also a good idea to make a plan with Our families in case We get a “windfall,” like an inheritance. If a plan is already set up it’s a lot less likely that the extra income will be squandered.
Usually, it doesn’t take too much to convince Our families that investing and building wealth is a good idea. When my Wife and I discussed Our financial future She was actually really happy that I was ready to make the necessary changes to ensure a healthy financial future for Our family.
It’s great to All be on the same page and rowing in the same direction!
After all, We can’t build wealth by spending all Our money.
Create a Goal, Set Up a Budget, Make a Plan, and Take Action
Everything We need to be “a success” is already within Us. If there is something We do not like about Ourselves, We can change it, if We can’t change it, it could be time for a “perception change” and a pivot.
We can’t let doubt and fear keep Us from Our ideal life.
The truth is most people know when something is not right. Stress and discomfort are good indications that a change needs to take place.
I was becoming very stressed because I was living paycheck to paycheck and running out of money before the month was up, so I decided something had to change. If I kept doing things the same way nothing would change, in fact things would have probably gotten worse because stuff always happens, like the car having expensive engine problems or my Air Conditioner breaking down.
If We’re barely getting by these inevitable problems will break Us. The best thing to do is stop digging Ourselves into a hole, assess the situation, figure out what actions or inactions are needed to get out of the hole, and then take action by changing bad habits, like living a high consumer lifestyle, into good habits, like eating at home.
Living life by new rules that support these good habits will be a bit uncomfortable at first but after a while Our old bad habits will make Us shake Our heads in disbelief. (I literally Cringe when I think about what I used to do with my finances)
We live in a world of cause and effect, so in order to get specific outcomes We need to take specific actions.
Planning is required so We know what actions to take and when We need to take them. The truth is, good planning is extremely important. Good planning makes almost anything possible!
Every action begins with a thought and a plan. We are planning machines. We plan when We get dressed, eat lunch, go to the store, even when We are simply talking.
A good plan is clear, concise, and actionable!
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