14 Rules For A Uniquely Simple Life
Follow your strange.
Noah Buscher | Unsplash Most online advice is training you to be a soulless automaton. We follow the rules and frameworks that work for others and wonder why they don’t work for us. This makes us miserable.
Here are 14 rules for a uniquely simple life:
1. Travel by yourself to new places.
I spent my entire 20s and 30s doing this. Start in your neighborhood. You will pick up memorable experiences. You are also more likely to meet new people, but you’ll learn about what you’re capable of more than anything else.
2. Commit to creating something ‘ridiculous.’
Few things of magnificence were ever accomplished without a bold promise. No matter how seemingly far out this first appears, I implore you to go there. Stop settling for scraps. You’re not a freaking badger. Set out to create something no one would even consider. You may find the air is sharper up here because it’s less crowded, and you’re on a genuine high.
3. Write an article or book you’re scared to write.
Writing is one thing, but writing, finishing, and sharing a book that requires you to be real, as well as vulnerable, is another thing entirely. Books that take courage to write will inevitably do better too.
4. Be less available to the crap that drains your energy.
Now you’re free to rise like a steely-eyed warrior on a mission to greatness.
5. Deepen your expertise in a hybrid combination of two or more things.
Everything’s been done, but no one has taken two or three things, put them together, and added your unique flavor to it. Here’s an example: become an expert on clothing technology for pets that improves the environment — and then bring your personality to it.
6. Follow your strange.
Most people have no idea how the general public influences them into the mediocrity of average. They are depressed because they don’t pursue and express what brings them to life. Stop doing things for others and do things that quench your curiosity. This doesn’t mean being a degenerate. For me, this means writing in a way that amuses me. Follow what you know is right, but don’t hide your weird.
Photo: Cookie Studio / Shutterstock
7. Do the opposite.
Regularly step back and evaluate what everyone in your industry is doing. What are the patterns and general trends? Now consider ways to go against the grain. What can you do that no one else is doing? This is how you gain naughty advantages and stand out like a panda in a penguin enclosure.
8. Experiment more with saying what you want to say, not what you think others want to hear.
This is very difficult for many and might get you canceled. Try not to get canceled. Get the balance right, and you’ll grow an enormous pair of balls that attract curious people from miles around.
9. Add more color and oomph to everything you do.
Right now, you’re doing just enough so you can get back to watching reruns of Golden Girls. Stop being lame. Go that extra stretch with your art, your process, your craft. Inject your offerings with a preposterous elixir and watch people erupt in laughter as they experience your distinctive energy.
10. Do a 30-day challenge to overcome a bad habit.
Keeping it together like a G for a month will boost your confidence, which will flow into other areas. Detaching yourself from an artificial stimulant, like alcohol, will also help you realize your authentic self.
11. Regularly and actively re-connect with your Inner Wise Person.
Few people connect with their deeper intelligence, whether through reflective sitting, going on lunch walks, or brainstorming via free writing. When artists or athletes enter a flow state, this is what they’re doing. They access a portal that is closed to most.
12. Be ‘unreasonably’ creative, even if you don’t feel like it.
The more you create, the more creative you become and the more insights and breakthroughs you will have. Find your obsession muscle and flex it daily. This will set you apart and help you find where you can make the most impact.
13. Take one small step today towards a project or goal you always dreamed about but never took action on.
14. Regularly identify hard things you can do this week to grow through the discomfort.
Pick one thing for the week at the minimum, even if it’s a small step towards something bigger. It should be frightening but also excite you. This is how you transform from a scared little weevil to a magnificent butterfly.
Alex Mathers is a writer and coach who helps you build a money-making personal brand with your knowledge and skills while staying mentally resilient.