4.15.2011

stumbling

"It's going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure." Joseph Campbell


I've come to the point in my to-do list where all my pleasant bullet points have a neat precise line drawn through them. The only tasks that remain are utterly horrendous (filing my taxes, fafsa, english paper). This means there is only one thing left to do.... 


...turn to Stumble Upon to help me push these things off a little longer by providing hours of entertainment and enlightenment. I seriously get lost on StumbleUpon. Kind of like how I lost hours as a child playing the Sims or Grand Theft Auto.

I found this amazing list while stumbling that I am going to share. I love lists and this one is one of my favorites because I've been on a mission to simplify my life....


source


60 Ways to Make Life Simple Again
  1. Don’t try to read other people’s minds.  Don’t make other people try to read yours.  Communicate.
  2. Be polite, but don’t try to be friends with everyone around you.  Instead, spend time nurturing your relationships with the people who matter most to you.
  3. Your health is your life, keep up with it.  Get an annual physical check-up.
  4. Live below your means.  Don’t buy stuff you don’t need.  Always sleep on big purchases.  Create a budget and savings plan and stick to both of them.
  5. Get enough sleep every night.  An exhausted mind is rarely productive.
  6.  Get up 30 minutes earlier so you don’t have to rush around like a mad man.  That 30 minutes will help you avoid speeding tickets, tardiness, and other unnecessary headaches.
  7. Get off your high horse, talk it out, shake hands or hug, and move on.
  8. Don’t waste your time on jealously.  The only person you’re competing against is yourself.
  9. Surround yourself with people who fill your gaps.  Let them do the stuff they’re better at so you can do the stuff you’re better at.
  10. Organize your living space and working space.
  11. Get rid of stuff you don’t use.
  12. Ask someone if you aren’t sure.
  13. Spend a little time now learning a time-saving trick or shortcut that you can use over and over again in the future.
  14. Don’t try to please everyone.  Just do what you know is right.
  15. Don’t drink alcohol or consume recreational drugs when you’re mad or sad.  Take a jog instead.
  16. Be sure to pay your bills on time.
  17. Fill up your gas tank on the way home, not in the morning when you’re in a hurry.
  18. Use technology to automate tasks.
  19. Handle important two-minute tasks immediately.
  20. Relocate closer to your place of employment.
  21. Don’t steal.
  22. Always be honest with yourself and others.
  23. Say “I love you” to your loved ones as often as possible.
  24. Single-task.  Do one thing at a time and give it all you got.
  25. Finish one project before you start another.
  26. Be yourself.
  27. When traveling, pack light.  Don’t bring it unless you absolutely must.
  28. Clean up after yourself.  Don’t put it off until later.
  29. Learn to cook, and cook.
  30. Make a weekly (healthy) menu, and shop for only the items you need.
  31. Consider buying and cooking food in bulk.  If you make a large portion of something on Sunday, you can eat leftovers several times during the week without spending more time cooking.
  32. Stay out of other people’s drama.  And don’t needlessly create your own.
  33. Buy things with cash.
  34. Maintain your car, home, and other personal belongings you rely on.
  35. Smile often, even to complete strangers.
  36. If you hate doing it, stop it.
  37. Treat everyone with the same level of respect you would give to your grandfather and the same level of patience you would have with your baby brother.
  38. Apologize when you should.
  39. Write things down.
  40. Be curious.  Don’t be scared to learn something new.
  41. Explore new ideas and opportunities often.
  42. Don’t be shy.  Network with people.  Meet new people.
  43. Don’t worry too much about what other people think about you.
  44. Spend time with nice people who are smart, driven, and like-minded.
  45. Don’t text and drive.  Don’t drink and drive.
  46. Drink water when you’re thirsty.
  47. Don’t eat when you’re bored.  Eat when you’re hungry.
  48. Exercise every day.  Simply take a long, relaxing walk or commit 30 minutes to an at-home exercise program.
  49. Let go of things you can’t change.  Concentrate on things you can.
  50. Find hard work you actually enjoy doing.
  51. Realize that the harder you work, the luckier you will become.
  52. Follow your heart.  Don’t waste your life fulfilling someone else’s dreams and desires.
  53. Set priorities for yourself and act accordingly.
  54. Take it slow and add up all your small victories.
  55. However good or bad a situation is now, it will change.  Accept this simple fact.
  56. Excel at what you do.  Otherwise you’ll just frustrate yourself.
  57. Mature, but don’t grow up too fast.
  58. Realize that you’re never quite as right as you think you are.
  59. Build something or do something that makes you proud.
  60. Make mistakes, learn from them, laugh about them, and move along.

Since the list was so long, the poem will be short....

The hands of
Power
Are often destructive.
The hands of
Love
Are always creative.
-Sri Chinmoy

7 comments:

  1. GREAT LIST!!!!!!
    Nice poem :)
    Have an excellent weekend,
    Cathy

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  2. Oooohhh, some of those are dead on. Simplifying my life (in many areas!) was one of the best things I could have done for myself. Good luck on your journey. :)

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  3. Don't you love finding lists like that with so many things you agree with? I know I do! :) Thanks for sharing! <3

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  4. Great list! It's about a mile long! Haha <3
    *Hugs!*
    Jordan

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  5. Wow, I didn't know about lists like that on stumbleupon. I'll have to check into the stumbling more closely one of these days... or weeks. LOL Thanks for sharing, there's alot to relate to, that's for sure!

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  6. I just set up a Stumble account the other day (not that I can remember the password...), I didn't even know what Stumbleupon was! ;) I'm still not sure how it can help my business, but I saw tons of great stuff in just the couple of minutes I was on. After I signed up for my Twitter account, it sat idle for many months... we'll see if I can learn to Stumble any quicker! ;)

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  7. I'm happy you all liked that loooooonnnnnng list :)

    I have found all kinds of great things on StumbleUpon... if any of you would like to follow me so you can see some of the things I've given a thumbs up my username is sarafinapaints :)

    Melinda, you can review your own sites and add them to categories so that other stumblers can stumbleupon them... not sure how effective it is, but I've come across some great inspiring pages!

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