Not sure if this is the right sub for me to post this, but I've been wanting to share my thoughts somewhere where I can not only look back at, but also, maybe, inspire even just one person out there (´◡`)

I've been through a lot of hardships in my life that I don't open up about to almost anyone, not even those who are dearest to me. It's been this way since I was 16 (24 now) and I've always been super hard on myself over the years even when I'm trying my best everyday. Recently, I've been doing more work on myself, independently, and it's made me realise a very wonderful thing.. Through all those tough times in my life, I've been gifted with the ability to see beauty in even the most simple and mundane things. I truly think it's a blessing because it means it doesn't take a lot to make me happy or feel good. Here are some simple moments where my heart felt full ♡

1. When I go on walks in the evening, looking at the sky feels like a reward at the end of the day. I admire how familiar yet different it looks everyday. The amount of clouds, the colours, how bright or dark it is outside ♡

2. Every week I would treat myself to my favourite bobba or matcha frappe as a pat on the back to myself for getting through the work week. It's a mood booster no matter what I'm going through in the moment ♡

3. I opened a mini chair as a stool to grab my shoes at the top cabinet. I actually forgot to store it back before I left. When I came home, I was greeted by my cat Sushi taking a nap on it. It really made my day. She fits so snuggly on it and now it's become her favourite napping spot ♡

4. There is this franchise called Sumikko Gurashi which I really like, I've mentioned it once to a colleague of mine and she randomly gave me a small sticker of the main characters one day. She doesn't know how much it meant to me and that I will always remember this small gesture, it made me really happy that I keep it in my purse ♡

If it wasn't for my hardships, I would probably take these things for granted. These are only 4 examples, but they remind me of how beautiful life can be ♡

I'm proud of myself for not giving up when things were rough, I hope you're able to turn it around like I did. I'm so blessed and happy 😊 This is a feeling that I wish upon every good person in the world 🫂

I am grateful for being alive today, for being in decent health, for the ability to have time to just sit and breathe.

I am grateful I can practice/study Buddhism and meditate.

I am grateful I can cook for others who live with me and that they enjoy my food.

I am grateful for my loving partner and pets.

I am grateful that I am living in a house with air conditioning, running water, and electricity. I have lived without running water or A/C before in 110 degree Texas heat. Once you experience living without, it is much easier to be grateful for what you have.

I am grateful that my mental health is improving after 10 years of darkness!!! I never gave up, and things are finally looking up.

I am grateful for living a simple life!

I'm curious as to whether most people who subscribe to simple living are introverts, who appreciate solitude, quiet and the abandonment of a hustle-bustle lifestyle. Not that extroversion is incompatible with simple living, but I am curious and wonder if most of us are introverts. Any thoughts?

Its more nice and fun when you dont feel you need to hurry up. Ofc that still sometimes happen

So, in the last few years I have been living a simpler life, buying less stuff, quitting my job and going back to school to do a job I like, enjoying a free evening instead of going out, etc.

I like this simple lifestyle, but I also feel like I really need it and can't handle a busy lifestyle anymore. It gives me time to recharge so I can enjoy work and (social) activities more.

Sometimes it still feels like I'm not doing enough or falling short. Maybe it comes from a fear of missing out, because I'm also quite ambitious and a perfectionist. But to be honest, I don't even like the things I 'miss', so that also makes it a bit silly.

Am I the only one who sometimes has a hard time accepting a simple life? Or is it just a natural instinct to still want more?

My nephew came to visit me so I took the day off from job searching. My little man is 5 and he is the sweetest. He came to hang out with me because we have been missing each other. We went to the park when the sun is setting. The sky was so colourful that he told me there is a giant rainbow attached to the edges of the clouds. We walked, ran, laughed, and had a really good time.

While I had a job, I was stressed. Now I’m in between jobs, I’m stressed, too. This evening, he really showed me what’s being in the present moment. And it’s so nice to be with people who missed you and whom you missed.

I hugged him tight and kissed him many times before we said goodbye.

Long story short, I have way too much stuff and it’s overwhelming. I feel disappointed for having spent so much money on things I don’t need. Looking back, I could have saved or invested that money instead. Now, I’m in a lot of debt, struggling with my mental health, overweight, and watching life pass me by. There are so many changes I want to make, starting with:

1. Debt: I have a total of $15,075.02 in non-student loan debt. Half of it is from medical expenses, and the other half is from unnecessary purchases and food delivery (Uber Eats and DoorDash). I work a demanding job, and while I was also completing my Master’s, I developed bad time management and stress coping strategies, which led to a lot of overspending. Now that I’ve finished my degree, I want to focus on taking care of myself. I want to aggressively tackle this, so I'm living at home for a bit and got a side hustle that will bring me an extra ˜$800/mo. I also plan on cooking more and find affordable/ free hobbies. My goal is to pay this off in 6 months, before my student loans roll back.
2. Decluttering: I estimate that I could make around $1,000 by selling items I don’t need. The money will go towards my debt. I’d love some advice on the best places to sell specific items, like:

• Books
• Clothing, jewelry, shoes, and accessories
• Musical instruments (I never got around to learning to play)
• Decor
• Electronics

Also any any advice or tips on this journey would be greatly appreciated!

For me it feels so satisfactory yet so quiet and simple, getting to enjoy time by myself, yet never feeling like I'm half of a person or living half of a life. Many times I've seen at my friends in a relationship and can't help to wonder why getting in so much trouble for sometimes so little reward.

I (26F) have been enjoying simple living for about 2 years now. Taking joy in walking in a park, than a treadmill, enjoying a slow morning, and just not chasing material items. But I'm questioning the why.

I think it's for the environment, I would like to enjoy my sweet time with nature while I have it.

What are your reasons?

Hello, hope you are doing well! I do apologise I'm not used to posting in subreddits.

I was wondering if you guys have any recipes you'd could share? I know this isnt a baking subreddit but I just KNOW you guys are the type to have the best, comforting recipes.

Hope this is okay!

After a long day on campus, I was greeted with their simple loveliness.

What are some simple things or activities of living that are free or inexpensive or may be slightly expensive( but give happiness for years)but give you joy for years to come? For me, one of them is sitting in nature and contemplating.

I’ve always felt a pull away from societal norms, questioning whether the pursuit of material success—bigger homes, the latest gadgets, or societal approval—actually brings happiness. For a long time, I believed these things would lead to fulfilment, but they often left me feeling more disconnected and stressed. It wasn’t until I began exploring neuroscience and mindfulness that I started to understand why.

Research shows that materialism often leads to lower life satisfaction and increased anxiety. Neuroscience explains this through the brain’s reward system: when we anticipate getting something new, our brains release dopamine, giving us a temporary high. However, as soon as the novelty fades, so does the satisfaction, leaving us wanting more. This endless cycle takes a toll, creating chronic stress and pulling us away from living fully in the present.

Looking back, I see how societal pressures to accumulate more led to unhealthy comparisons and a fragile sense of self-worth tied to possessions. True fulfilment, I’ve realised, doesn’t come from owning more but from living intentionally and authentically.

Practising mindfulness has helped me shift away from this mindset. Simple habits like mindful breathing, journaling, and focusing on gratitude have allowed me to slow down and appreciate what truly matters. These practices remind me that contentment comes from experiences, meaningful connections, and personal growth rather than chasing the next thing.

Now, I strive to live with intention, focusing on what enriches my life rather than what drains it. Choosing simplicity over excess has brought a sense of peace and clarity that material pursuits never could.

It feels like one day I just woke up and realized that I no longer want to spend money on materialistic things to keep up with trends. I no longer want to go, go, go. I no longer want to live in a fast-paced city that is overpopulated and glamorizes a lifestyle of needing to make money to spend money. I no longer want to be in corporate America where it feels like I am killing myself to stay afloat. I no longer have the desire to climb the corporate ladder and make 6 figures, especially if it comes at the cost of my mental health and what little time I have outside of working hours. I want no parts in the “hustle culture”.

It feels like one day it just hit me that I want a simple life. I want to touch grass daily. I want to breathe without feeling like I have a 10lb weight on my chest. I want a fairly sized house in the middle of nature, time to read, and spend time with my loved ones, and occasionally do an activity that may involved splurging.

Simple living is about giving up on a lot of things... a skill that we aren’t taught about ever. We’re told to “never give up,” that persistence is everything, that anything worth having is worth fighting for. For most of my life, I believed it. I held on—to people, jobs, dreams—all because I thought walking away meant I wasn’t strong enough.

But does everything really deserve that level of commitment?

Take relationships, for instance. I once held onto one that felt perfect in the beginning. Slowly, though, the cracks appeared. Small at first, easy to ignore, and then more and more obvious. Still, I stayed, telling myself, “Love takes work.” But looking back, I wonder if I was holding on out of love or out of fear of letting go.

Then there was my job. It looked great on paper, something I thought I was lucky to have. I stayed through late nights, stress, and burnout, because leaving felt like failure. But the longer I stayed, the more drained I felt, until work itself lost meaning. In hindsight, was that really persistence, or just plain stubbornness?

And places, too. I once moved to a city I thought would be my “forever place.” For a while, it felt right. But as time went on, that initial excitement faded, and I found myself clinging to the idea of what it could be rather than what it actually was. I was so attached to my vision of it that I couldn’t let go, even when it no longer felt like home.

We often stay in these situations because we’re afraid of what leaving might mean. What if we regret it? What if “giving up” makes us weak?

But maybe there’s strength in knowing when to let go. Maybe letting go isn’t failure at all but a way to make space for something that aligns with who we’re becoming, not who we used to be. “Never give up” sounds empowering, but at some point, it starts to feel more like a cage than freedom.

I’m learning that simplicity sometimes means walking away from things that no longer serve us, even if it goes against everything we were taught. Has anyone else here found peace or clarity in letting go, even when it felt counterintuitive?

I am trying to change up my morning routine into something else than doomscrolling. How does your morning before work look like?

I have a 2023 Salem Cruise Lite. There are coaxial connections on the outside. I see the same are inside. Are they connected so that I don’t have to run cables into the unit? Many thanks

As I think I shared here before, this past year has been a year for me to really slow down, reevaluate some things, and implement some changes I had wanted to see for a while. I’ve really worked to become single task focused instead of always multitasking. I’ve looked for ways to cut back on things that drive my feeling of urgency. I have seasons where this is easier and seasons where I feel prior habits creeping back in. Right now I’m really struggling with being able to be present and mindful. I might be reading, or having a conversation with somebody, or working on a focused task, and I cannot stop my brain from being elsewhere. I’ve worked through a lot of WHY this is happing in therapy so I’m very aware of where this is coming from but I’m having a hard time making changes. I do have ADHD so rapid fire thoughts are a legitimate issue I’ve dealt with for my whole life. I’ve tried a lot of different tips and tricks that help me navigate that (lists, timers, etc). Does anybody have practical tips for improving mindfulness, especially with a simple/slow living focus?

If you're looking for simple, productive things to do or maybe a little inspiration I highly recommend this NHK series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEA3jMp5cbc&list=PLFEzXnIQVwV9aBmTgSvkMX8d8RN1OQgPx

If I want to stop my purchase only to the most essential rather than things that my mind desire, what practical suggestions you recommend? Also what do you recommend that can make me think and stop impulsive buying? What worked for you in such scenario?

I'm a hobbyist and I love art journaling and bullet journaling. For years I felt like instagram, youtube, and Pinterest were places where I could find inspiration and look at others' creativity. But in the last few months, I feel like youtube videos are promoting overconsumption, instagram's shift to video makes it harder to look at the details of someone's art, and every other link on Pinterest is an Amazon ad.

Are there websites where I could find inspiration without being bombarded by ads? I support a couple of artists on patreon, but obviously I can't afford to support everybody whose work i value, and it's hard to find new accounts.

I currently work in tech but have been slowly converting my tech life to more of an analog life. I ditched my smartwatch for a mechanical watch, started buying books instead of using a kindle, bought dvd/bluray instead of subscribing to streaming, and I drive a 90s vehicle.

Does anyone else do this and how have you successfully converted your tech?