We live in an insatiable society. We always want more – a bigger apartment, a faster car, work that pays more, the most beautiful girlfriend. While striving for achievement is definitely a good thing, we simply can’t draw the line and eventually feel happy with what we have.
Setting limits and healthy boundaries could actually improve the quality of life you lead. If you’ve never thought about such limitations, here are a few examples that will make you feel more fulfilled rather than restricted.
Limiting Your Relationships with Others
In our young life, we tend to maintain lots of friendships and acquaintances. Being surrounded by people makes us feel fulfilled.
With the passage of time, however, you’ll probably reach the conclusion that a few close friendships are much more valuable than having lots of people in your life.
Studies show that the average person is connected to at least 148 individuals. The number of true friends, however, ranges between three and five.
Surround yourself by people who share similar attitudes towards life and goals. These are the people that will stimulate you, support you and help you grow as an individual. Toxic relationships should be ended as soon as possible because of the detrimental effect they can have on your wellbeing.
You may want to consciously limit the interactions you have with others. While knowing many people is fine, you shouldn’t let everyone in your intimate world. Being selective about friendships will result in a sense of fulfilment.
Limit Distractions
Our world is full of distractions. We have internet, personal devices, television, live streaming, games, music, movies and a whole host of time wasters.
Putting a limit on distractions is another way to grow, to boost your productivity and to improve your work to life balance.
The average person wastes a significant portion of their life on distractions. We spend an average of five hours per day on digital devices and we use an average of 56 apps per day. Imagine if all of this time were put to something beneficial – creativity, learning something new, working or spending quality time with loved ones.
Limit the distractions in your life if you want to be more conscious, more present and more aware of all the wonderful things happening around you.
If you can’t accomplish the task on your own, you may want to seek a bit of assistance. FocusMe comes in quite handy until you learn to set boundaries. Through the use of it, you can control the time you spend on distractions, the sites you visit and the work you do. It’s also great for helping young people form good habits because an entire generation is growing up in the presence of digital technology from birth.
A Limit on Saying Yes
If you are a people pleaser, you live under the curse of being incapable of saying no.
Chances are that you feel bad about refusing something in your personal or professional life. Helping others is certainly a good thing. Being incapable of turning requests down, however, will contribute to others taking advantage of you.
Learning when to say no is one of the prerequisites for leading a healthy, happy life.
You will still have to do things that you don’t want to do. That’s a part of being a responsible adult. At the same time, you will know where to draw the line. If someone is pushing you to help when you have a tight deadline, it’s ok to say no. When someone that you’re in a relationship with asks you to engage in an activity that runs against your principles, it’s ok to say no.
Learning to say no helps you put yourself first and that’s a part of a healthy mindset. Even if you hurt somebody else’s feelings for a little while, you will know that you’ve done the right thing.
Limit the Number of Tasks You Attempt to Handle
Multitasking is often perceived as a positive thing that enables you to get a lot done. The truth couldn’t be any farther from this claim.
When multitasking, you can’t focus fully on one single thing. As a result, you will need a lot more time to complete a task that would have required a fraction of the execution duration if you were fully focused.
Limit the number of tasks you take on per day. For the purpose, you will also have to learn how to prioritize and how to determine what needs to be completed first.
This tip ties in with handling distractions. Checking your email while writing a thesis paper is going to distract you and reduce your productivity. You need a good, distraction-free environment and you also need an optimized schedule to work hard, get things done and benefit from enough time for leisure and relaxation.
Limit Your Belongings
Materialism and commercialism affect the manner in which you live your life. Advertising programs us to desire many things and to feel unhappy in the absence of those.
Putting your happiness in material belongings creates a shallow sense of possession and accomplishment. You’ll have no idea how to feel truly and deeply satisfied in the absence of those things.
Making belongings the center of your universe is as toxic as putting your happiness in the hands of another person.
Limit your material possessions and refocus on the spiritual. Build relationships, learn new things and find your calling in life. A home filled with expensive things is eventually going to suffocate you if you don’t have anything meaningful to pursue.
Getting rid of items can be difficult in the beginning, especially if you’ve developed an emotional attachment to them. The moment you let go, however, you’ll experience a massive sense of liberation.
Finally, remember there’s no formula for leading a happy life. It all depends on who you are and what you’d like to accomplish. Define a deep and meaningful goal and set limits on its basis. This level of personalization will make it easier for you to find the right directions and determine the steps required to get to your end dream.
