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bemorewithless

Simplify your life. Declutter your mind. Connect with your heart.

Mini-Mission

Love More Deeply: mini-mission

by Courtney Carver

This mini-mission, like most, is about mindfulness and intention. When I wrote Lessons from Love and Marriage, I realized that the biggest rewards I receive in my relationships are from the smallest loving shifts.

In our hurried lives, we often take for granted the people who are closest to us. We sometimes forget about the people in the world who live without love and we rarely take the time to love ourselves. Instead, we tell ourselves how we could do better, or beat ourselves up for not being the person we want to be.

This mini-mission does not require you to give anymore of yourself than you already do. It just invites you to give in a different way.

With awareness and attention, more love is yours for the giving and the receiving. By just shifting our intentions, we can love more deeply. It doesn’t take extra effort, just a re-direction of energy.

Shift your energy

  • from being right to being quiet.
  • from being annoyed to being grateful.
  • from being angry to being joyful.
  • from being rushed to taking time.
  • from eye roll to hug.
  • from scowl to smile.

Chances are, you are already a loving person, but don’t always have the time and attention to speak, act or be the way you inherently are. You can apply this mini-mission in a marriage or any loving relationship. Love God, children, pets, parents, friends, siblings, yourself, a neighbor, or a stranger.

Here is your 3 part mini-mission:

  1. Speak with love
  2. Act with love
  3. Be with love

Keep in mind that you do not have to be in the right mood, or even feel loving to practice love. Notice how you feel speaking with love, acting with love and being with love. Notice how much more love there is in your life, when you practice these simple shifts.

How will you love more deeply?

For more experiments to simplify your life, read Mini-missions for Simplicity. It’s available on the Amazon Kindle store, but you don’t need a Kindle to read it. Kindle books can also be read using the Free Kindle Reader App for your Web Browser, PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android.

Destination-less Walking: mini mission

by Courtney Carver

Writing about my recent visit to San Francisco inspired today’s mini-mission. Usually we walk to get somewhere. We walk to arrive at a destination. We walk to get healthier, or skinnier or faster. What do we miss when we are walking for another purpose?

Like many things, sometimes when you try to make walking productive, you actually miss the walk.

What if you just went for a walk?

Destination-less walking is your mini-mission. Slow down, look around and walk. Schedule a block of time so you aren’t rushed and you can just walk and have time to take in your surroundings; up, down and all around. Notice what may have passed you by on your regular walking route or go somewhere new. Be surprised by what happens around you and inside you. Be aware of what you see, but not consumed by it.

When I was in San Francisco, I found great joy in walking around without a destination. In our day to day routines, we are so consumed with going through the motions, that we often forget to look around. The world continues to move above us, below us and all around us, even if we don’t notice.

For this mini-mission it doesn’t matter if you walk alone or with someone you love. Your speed or lack of it is not important. Walk wearing sneakers or flip flops or no shoes at all. Walk on the road, a trail, the beach or wherever you want. This walk has no rules, no specific distance, and no pressure. This walk is not a competition. This walk is just for you.

For more experiments to simplify your life, read Mini-missions for Simplicity. It’s available on the Amazon Kindle store, but you don’t need a Kindle to read it. Kindle books can also be read using the Free Kindle Reader App for your Web Browser, PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android.

Sit Still: mini-mission

by Courtney Carver

Parents are always telling their children to sit still. While I’m not sure sitting still is good for children, I know it is good for adults. In our oh so busy lives, sitting still, like napping can seem counter productive, but it really has the potential to improve our health and overall outlook on the day and life itself.  In mainstream society, most are praised for high energy and getting things done. You will likely hear, “wow, she does it all!” over “she is really good at sitting still”.

Luckily, this blog was not designed for the mainstream, so your mini-mission today is to sit still. Joshua Becker writes about practicing solitude at any given time by just finding a quiet place to sit for an extended period of time. Leo Babauta recently incorporated sitting into his morning routine. “You don’t have to meditate — sitting still, contemplating, taking in the world, is a beautiful thing.”

For this mini-mission, sitting still is not meant to be meditation, or a means to an end. In fact, the only rule is: don’t sit AND. Typically we sit AND eat, sit AND read, sit AND check email, watch a movie or anything else besides just sitting to sit. There is no time limit for this mini-mission or other requirement other than don’t do anything else while you sit.

To see if this habit works for you, try it in the morning. Wake up and drink water. Then, find a chair of your own and just sit still.

For more experiments to simplify your life, read Mini-missions for Simplicity. It’s available on the Amazon Kindle store, but you don’t need a Kindle to read it. Kindle books can also be read using the Free Kindle Reader App for your Web Browser, PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android.

Pack a Suitcase: mini-mission

by Courtney Carver

As you simplify your life, there is a big focus on getting rid of your stuff. I’ve done it, thought about it and written about it. I think it’s time to start focusing on what you want to keep. Perhaps that change in direction will give you a better understanding of how unessential everything else is. Think of it as upside down uncluttering.

Today’s mini-mission is to pack a suitcase. You might think this is crazy, but it will be really eye opening. Don’t worry about a specific number of things, but imagine that you are taking a trip and may never come back. Choose wisely, as you will have to carry the suitcase and its contents with you wherever you go. The size of the suitcase is up to you. Fill it with the personal items you don’t want to live without.

You aren’t moving to a desert island in this scenario, so don’t make this an emergency preparedness project. This is about what you own that you love and (at the moment), can’t imagine living without. This might take a few days, but it will be refreshing to think about the keepers and make giving away the stuff that didn’t make the cut, that much easier.

What are three things you know you will put in your suitcase?

For more experiments to simplify your life, read Mini-missions for Simplicity. It’s available on the Amazon Kindle store, but you don’t need a Kindle to read it. Kindle books can also be read using the Free Kindle Reader App for your Web Browser, PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android.

Small Challenges to Change Your Life

by Courtney Carver

photo credit: click here

If you have made the decision to be more with less, you have a lot of work to do. Working towards:

  • no debt and more savings

  • less stress and more health

  • less stuff and more time

  • less obligation and more joy…

will take time. If this is truly going to be a lifestyle change, it needs to be approached with purpose. While the process may be slow, the reward is great. Mini-Missions are assignments or challenges that you can implement immediately, so you can enjoy some immediate gratification during this adventure.

Mini-missions are often one step things that you can do to improve your health, bank account or wardrobe. I am going to add a special page just for mini-missions so you can add them as needed or if it seems like you aren’t making much progress to be more with less, you can go to the mini-mission page and make immediate change.

Last week your Mini-Mission was to drink water. Today….

Five in Ten

Earlier this week, I posted about How to Simplify your Closet. If you haven’t started yet, then start with the Five in Ten Mini-Mission. This task will take less than ten minutes. Go to your closet and pull five items that you haven’t worn in the past six months to a year. Put the items in a bag and put them in the back of your car or by the door so you will will take them on your way out. Drop the bag at a local clothing drop center for donation.

Letting go of 5 items in 10 minutes is exhilarating. This simple step will help you gain enough momentum to Simplify your Closet.

You can apply this 5 in 10 Mini-Mission to any drawer or clutter filled area. Let me know how it goes! I think you will feel challenged to stop at five.

For more experiments to simplify your life, read Mini-missions for Simplicity. It’s available on the Amazon Kindle store, but you don’t need a Kindle to read it. Kindle books can also be read using the Free Kindle Reader App for your Web Browser, PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, or Android.