Lightening the Load – TPW404

No matter how much we love our life, sometimes our commitments and obligations (and our thoughts) can weigh us down. This week we're considering ways we can lighten our load and make our days more manageable and enjoyable. When our life feels burdensome, lightening the load can be a matter of a few intentional choices Even when we’re making a life we love, the day-to-day can sometimes feel like a burden--too much to do; too high expectations (of ourselves and of others, by ourselves and by others); too much to maintain; too much on our minds. Sometimes it feels like we have no time or energy left to actually enjoy the life we’re making. One article I read recently talked about the burdens we carry this way: “Burdens, for example, are usually expressed as heavy loads that weigh down our mindsets. They can refer to recurring ideas, situations, distresses, worries, or responsibilities. A burden can be just about anything, whether that’s a person, place, thing, or even idea. Therefore, interpreting a burden can mean something different to each individual. Not all burdens feel the same, as some burdens may weigh down one individual while looking like a light feather to another.” Some results and symptoms of this burden-carrying are exhaustion, stress, poor sleep, and we simply don’t enjoy our life.  A Psychology Today article puts it this way: “We're all carrying a load, including tasks, challenges, worries, inner criticism, mistreatment from others, physical and emotional pain, loss and illness now or later, and everyday stresses and frustrations. There's a fundamental model in the health sciences that how you feel and function is based on just three factors: your load, the personal vulnerabilities it wears upon - such as health problems, a sensitive temperament, or a history of trauma - and the resources you have. As a law of nature, if your load or vulnerabilities increase - over a day, a year, or a lifetime - so must your resources. Otherwise, inevitably, you will get strained, depleted, and ground down.” How can we lighten the load? 1. Declutter your home - so much of the load we carry centers around the stuff we take care of Josh Becker (author of The Minimalist Home, which we discussed as part of our recurring Productive Reading series in TPW324) said this about it in The Burdens We Already Carry, a post on the Becoming Minimalist website: Life is hard. Why would we ever choose to make it more difficult? But it seems to me that many of us choose to do that very thing simply by carrying excess possessions in our homes and lives. Perhaps Randy Alcorn said it best, “Every increased possession adds increased anxiety onto our lives.” Excess possessions take up residence in our homes and in our minds. They require care, maintenance, and attention. Every item we own must be handled and at some point, discarded—whether by ourselves or by a loved one. They add obligation, responsibility, weight.” How much of that stuff you’re caring for and cleaning around actually adds val...