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7 Reasons To Practice Voluntary Simplicity

To those who do not practice voluntary simplicity, it may look like a passing fad. It may sound like a lifestyle of hippie-wannabes living in communes, gardening, and selling crafts to pay what few bills they may have.

In fact, voluntary simplicity means different things to different people. For some, it means slowing life down by cutting out unmeaningful activities or leaving the corporate rat race.

dandelions going to seed

For others, it means living frugally. For still others, it means making a habit of eco-conscious living, basing decisions on how they will impact the health of the environment.

For everyone who practices voluntary simplicity, it means making a concerted effort to leave materialism behind, to have only what is needed and/or meaningful in life. In the words of the authors of Your Money or Your Life,

You have enough for survival, enough for your comforts
and even some special luxuries, with no excess to burden
you unnecessarily. Enough is a powerful and free place.¹

However, our society continually encourages to push for more than enough. Perhaps you often find ourselves with kitchen appliances that forever live in a dark cabinet, clothes you never wear, or expensive stereos that are only listened to for a few minutes each day.

Maybe you find ourselves on more committees than you have time for, eating more food than your body needs, making commitments that force you to give up an ever-dwindling amount of family time.

Choosing a life of voluntary simplicity can free you from all that. In fact, there are many compelling reasons to simplify life. Here are just seven of those reasons.

1. Reduced stress. When you learn to say "no" to things and activities you don't really enjoy, you have a lot less to worry about and more time to do what truly fulfills you.

2. Improved health. When stress goes down, so do blood pressure and negative emotions that can acidify your body. Of course, when you simplify your eating habits, you automatically began to eat more healthful foods.

3. A faster road to financial independence/retirement. What if you quit buying that lottery ticket every week, traded in your luxury lemon for a reliable Honda or Toyota, and cancelled the cable service? What if you invested the money you saved every month?

Retirement might be a reality five or ten years sooner than expected. Or, you may find that you have saved enough to be able to work only part- time.

rustic farm

4. Cleaner planet. When you simplify your life, you will reduce waste and pollution, conserve resources, and lessen your carbon footprint without even trying.

5. Freedom to do what you love. Many people who hit the road to simple living leave the rat race and follow their dreams. Yes, that will take financial creativity; however, once you are freed from the stress of a job you despise, your creative juices begin to explode out of you.

6. Freedom to be you. Once you've disciplined yourself not to care about what others think about you--what you wear, where you live, or how you parent your kids, for example--you become truly free to be the person God created you to be.

7. Deeper relationships with the one you love. Simpler living = less time spent on insignificant tasks and events = more time for family, friends, and God.

May I coach you? When you choose to become part of the voluntary simplicity movement, you choose a valid and way of life that helps you to live a more meaningful life.

1. Dominguez, Joe and Vicki Robin, Your Money or Your Life. Penguin Books USA, 1992.

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