"When I line up all of my favourite things…"

Recently I’ve been reading tips on how to live a stress free life. There’s an endless line-up of self-help bloggers clamoring for my attention on the subject. Starting a Google search with “stress” anywhere in the title will result in enough contrary results to push one’s anxiety levels to the breaking point.

So I’ve narrowed my parameters. I’ve started to look at how to find stress relief through a process of simplifying my life. It’s still a broad topic, but I’ve eliminated the opinions of millions of quacks by sticking with the research on one basic principle – less is more.

I don’t claim to be an expert on the subject – yet, but I have noticed a some similarities in these “simple life” teachings. The first and most important thing I’m often told to do on my journey to being simple is to make a list of the 4 or 5 most important things in my life. The basic things in my life that I won’t destroy or reduce in my soul renovation. The 2nd step is then to start eliminating everything in my life that doesn’t chart in the top 5. The methods of purging are endless, but this list creation is the basis for many guides on simplicity.

I love lists and charts so I thought I’d give it a go. It can’t hurt.

#1 – God

I think if most people are really honest with themselves they would put their belief system as the #1 most important thing in their life. Whether you believe in god(s), man, science or any combination of the three it usually consumes a large amount of time. And for the handful of people I know that say they truly believe in nothing, they seem to spend the most time and energy on their beliefs – primarily convincing themselves that they’re right and influencing others to believe as they do.

This #1 has a large influence on the rest of my list. It’s my intention to make my relationship with Jesus the most important part of my life. I admit I don’t live every minute of every day in a way that reflects this desire, but I’m working on it, and I believe God is working on me.

A few examples of time spent directly as a result of this on the list:

• praying – I set some time aside every day
• reading – The Bible mostly, other literature at times
• serving others – often with my church

#2 – Family (and friends)

My wife says this has to be 2nd.

Kidding aside, show me a person who doesn’t have this in their top 5 and I’ll show you a person who isn’t going to be stress free anytime soon. If you have family and you don’t think they’re that important, I can guarantee they are stressing you out. I make a choice to keep this as my #2 most important thing every day, whether I feel like it or not.

A few examples of time spent directly as a result of this on the list:

• Driving kids around
• Listening to my wife – and not for the Klondike Bar
• Eating meals together

#3 – Music

Good – I got the heavy stuff out of the way in the first two.

I could write for days on why Music is important to me. It has been for as long as I can remember. It’s the one thing in life I can’t explain away. It serves no real purpose other than to make me feel something, or express feeling. It’s on the list because I can’t shake it off more than me choosing it’s presence.

A few examples of time spent directly as a result of this on the list:

• Finding new music – good new music is still being made, I just have to look really hard now.
• Writing songs
• Playing in bands

#4 – Sports

This has fluctuated in importance over my lifetime. At times when i was younger it was the most important thing to me. Playing hockey, and later basketball, was all I wanted to do in my pre-teen years.

In high-school I played a lot of volleyball and still enjoyed watching the occasional sporting event on TV. By the time I graduated I could take it or leave it. I enjoyed the competition but I wasn’t really following any teams to any large degree. The “art/music” crowd isn’t always very athlete friendly so in my attempts to fit in I pushed aside one of my passions for a time.

Now I’m mostly a spectator. Following hockey gives me an instant connection with so many people I meet on a daily basis but there may be nothing more universal than soccer. I started following the world game out of my curiosity with it’s massive popularity and have become totally fascinated with how it’s ingrained into every aspect of humanity on earth. Only us North Americans don’t really understand this. Spend the time to learn why soccer the most popular sport on the planet and you will learn things about culture, politics, community, fear, love and many other topics that you may not expect.

A few examples of time spent directly as a result of this on the list:

• Managing and participating in hockey pools
• Watching games – on TV and in person when possible
• Playing soccer with my daughter

#5 Travel

With only one choice left, this is a tough one.

If you look at my life from the outside you would not call me a traveler. About the most exotic place I’ve been in the past 12 months is Edmonton. Sure in my life I’ve been to all 10 Provinces in Canada and 37 of the 50 United States. All but two of those states were visited before I exited my teen years. We also walked across the border into Tijuana to check Mexico off the destination list.

I went to Europe a couple years ago. It’s not an overstatement to say it changed my life. That’s a big reason why I’m forcing Travel into my top 5. My family will always be higher on the list and it will be a limiting factor in how much time I can spend on putting Travel into my life, and I’m content with that, but I do want to place a bigger priority on the possibility of exploring the world.

A few examples of time spent directly as a result of this on the list:

• Watching travel shows – when I’m emotionally healthy enough to do so without crying because I can’t fly there tomorrow.
• Helping my wife plan her trip to Ireland next spring
• Living vicariously through my family and friends travel adventures

The Second Step?

So now that I’ve made my list I’m supposed to start eliminating things that didn’t make the cut.

Of course I can stretch almost anything to fit loosely into these above 5 things. Do I not purge something from my life as long as I’m doing it with my friends or family?

Previous top 5s like playing video games I still enjoy from time to time but if I’m attempting to live stress free should I completely axe them from my life? How about nature? I’ve really enjoyed hiking, camping, fishing, etc from time to time.

I guess I understand the concept though. I wouldn’t really miss those things if I’ve replaced them with something I find more important or enjoyable. I can see the stress relief benefits of un-complicating my responsibilities and hobbies.

But what about blogging? It didn’t make the list.

And the more important omission? Reading self-help blogs and websites – Not on the list!

Maybe this whole simplification thing is too complicated for me.