page 10
opinions
A Little Sheep Told Me: Having a less complicated life
ANGIE SHEEP
Arts & Culture Editor
My night class, which should have ended
at 10pm, ended nearly half an hour late. As
people quickly filtered out of the room, eager
to get home, I stood up and marched out
slowly; my bus had already departed and it
was uncertain when the next one would be.
This meant that I wouldn’t arrive home until
11:30pm since I live downtown. On the entire
way home, my annoyance level kept increasing, but this frustration eventually gave me
my “eureka!” moment. I realized that this was
only the beginning - a late night finish is quite
common in the legal profession. At the same
time, I realized that this is not what I want for
the rest my life. I realized life doesn’t have to
be so exhausting, demanding or complicated
if I decide it so. I, therefore, am currently on
the mission to simplify my life and have been
putting into practice advice from all kinds of
sources – family, friends, strangers, the Internet. And it’s actually given me so much relief
and joy as a result. So in this issue, my challenge to you is to take steps to have a less complicated life; it’s definitely doable and luckily,
it’s all within your control.
Figure out exactly what you want
What exactly do you want? Are you doing the
things that will take you there? The answers
to these questions are extremely difficult as
life is full of distractions. In a world where
there’s constant stimulation, noise, and advertising to dictate what you should want, it’s hard
to self-reflect on this matter. But you must. In
order to figure out how to simplify your life
you must decide what is most important to you
– family? Money? Prestige? Love? A great
friend in psychology and education asked me
this question a few weeks ago and at the time,
I was at a complete loss. I eventually answered
that I would really like a job because I need
an income. However, as he replied, you never
just have money for the sake of having money;
it’s a means to an end. That’s what really got
me thinking and on my way home from my
prolonged lecture, I finally figured something
out. I knew that I love traveling and most of
my income will certainly go towards funding that, but the way I am headed, there will
hardly be any time left for it. Two weeks vacation will never be enough; it’s time to make a
change, go on a different path. What do you
love?
Give your most “importants” your best
monday - october 28 - 2013
In figuring out what you want, you are likely
to also discover what’s most important to you.
For many, it’s family, significant others and/
or friends. But if they are absolutely the most
important “things” we hav e in our lives, then
why are we always giving them our second
best? Third best? Or worse? I find it ironic
that we don’t give our best to the people we
value the most. Instead we choose to stay at
school or at the office longer and go home
and face them after we’re completely spent.
Although they may be very supportive and
understanding, even those who care for you
most will be fed up if their love goes unreciprocated. I know that I want to travel endlessly
(thus I need to get a job), but when I envision
myself gallivanting around the world, I see
somebody else beside me; I am not alone nor
do I want to enjoy all the great things in life
alone. Therefore, I should make the most effort
in retaining the “things” that are most important to me, and give them my best; because
they are simply that – the most important.
Believe that everything usually turns out
just fine
Life becomes unnecessarily complicated when
we choose to hold on to the little annoyances
or grudges that bring us down. So just let go,
especially of the things that you have little
or no control over. Focus on what you can
change or do. The other stuff will seem trivial
in a matter of days or weeks. It’s important to
reflect on what you can do better or differently, but to obsess over and tirelessly replay
what you should or could have done will only
bring more stress. Don’t put so much pressure
on yourself.
Be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker
We are presented with so many situations
where we can choose to be helpful and kind or
just a pain in the butt. When you opt to create
trouble or drama, it simply lowers your own
quality of life because the consequences of that
are likely to harass you in the future. It may
also demean your reputation and lead to further misunderstandings. So it’s more beneficial
for you to be the bigger person, and this will
often be followed by appreciation and admiration. If you don’t have anything nice to say,
revert to peaceful silence.
There can never be too much laughter in life.
It has been shown to effectively reduce stress
levels and elevate moods and life outlook. If
you suddenly realize that you don’t laugh as
much or as wholeheartedly as before, something is wrong. We all go through stressful
stages in life (100% exams anyone?) but laughter becomes an even more important component in these times. So find something that
brings you joy and never let it up. It’s much
easier when you can laugh through these
times.
No one else was put on this planet to
make you happy
It is so easy to place responsibility on others
to bring you happiness by doing or saying certain things, but this often leads to blame and
resentment when they fail to do so. I’m not
sure what gives way to this sense of entitlement but it’s time for an attitude change. I
am also guilty of this and have been trying to
replace expectation with appreciation. Whatever someone else does that results in your
increased joy should not be mindlessly overlooked. And if there is a person who brings
you abundant joy (lucky you!), try to avoid
getting into a habit of then expecting it. For
example, I love having the bed made. For some
reason, it gives me a sense of serenity and
order in my life. My boyfriend, on the other
hand, cannot seem to grasp this concept; his
excuse is that we’re going to be sleeping in it
again (whatever). However, he’s been making
the bed for my sake though there are still odd
days where he is too lazy to do it and it takes
every ounce of me to not get angry. However
(after counting to a hundred), I then recognize that he does this only for me, so I should
attend to and appreciate the effort he makes
rather than when he fails to do so. This concept seems so simple yet it’s always neglected,
especially in times of annoyance. But remember, a positive reward tends to lead to repetition of the act (Pavlov’s dog, right?).
It’s hard to have a simple and uncomplicated
life, but it’s not impossible. I hope these tips
will help you in meeting that mission. And
once you start that effort, the rest seems to fall
into place just fine.
Laugh, that is all
the obiter dicta