I’m a big fan of the simple life - having no clutter, peace of mind, focusing on something greater than the pursuit of material consumption - it’s one of the best ways to live. Of course, that doesn’t mean you deny yourself of everything. I think it’s healthy to splurge once in a while but the fact remains, in my opinion, the simple life is the best.

There are some people out there who want the simple life, but find their hands figuratively “tied”. They can’t seem to get there no matter how hard they try and it’s usually mostly because of one or all of the following 3 reasons.

Reason #1: They Don’t Have a Great Reference Group

Normally when you hear the term reference group, you automatically think of the people you habitually associate with, which is true, but your reference group can expand further beyond that. It can also include everything you habitually hear on the radio, watch on the TV, read in the magazines, in short the media as well. Technology has improved to the point where we are saturated in it without even realizing it.

It has become our second “shadow” reference group.

And people begin to see all the celebrities with all the good things and they go out and buy them too, not knowing that those celebrities probably got them for free in exchange for the marketing it gets in the media, knowing full well they can’t afford it and yeah it’s nice for a couple of days, but after that, all they have to show for it is monthly payments on the plastic.

The more things they buy, the more hidden ownership costs start to arise – insurance, repair, maintenance, etc.

And that further puts them in a bind to come up with the money to pay for all these things to the point where that becomes their entire focus – trying to pay for everything they’ve accumulated.

And to add salt into the wound, if your reference group (in terms of the people you habitually associate) like the pursuit of material consumption, it will keep you going on the treadmill. It will make it ten times harder to get off because you don’t want to “fall behind” in our reference group. You want to keep it up

Cut the media from your life and start limiting the time you spend with people who only like the pursuit of material consumption.

There will be no pressure to follow and you’ll experience a breath of fresh air to pursue another way of living.

Reason #2: No Triggering Event

It’s easy for people to continually do the things they’re doing unless something BIG happens.

Change happens in either one of two ways.

One is a war of attrition. Constant hammering, repetition, just a good old pounding everyday.

The second way is the triggering event.

Something big, something emotional, something shocking, something painful, something that will just throw the whole kitchen sink at a person to stun them to the point where their whole way of thinking is shaken.

That’s the triggering event most people need to literally “restart” their way of thinking and in the precious time after the triggering event, to “embed” a new program.

We’re seeing how the economy is acting like a triggering event for most people.

People have been hit hard – job layoffs, investments taking, sources of credit drying up – it has shaken their way of thinking and forced them to take a serious look at how they spend their money.

Many people are enjoying cutting back and realizing the intangible benefits that they experience as a result - more leisure time, less stress, peace of mind, more time with family and friends, indulgences in simple pleasures, etc.

Without a triggering event to “derail” the train of thought most people have when it comes to finances, it will be very hard to change toward living a simple life.

Reason #3: A Lack of a Goal Outside of Material Consumption

When you’re striving for something more than material consumption, all of that stuff – accumulation of material goods, keeping up with Joneses, etc. – it just pales in comparison.

You’ll shake your head and wonder why you even did it in the first place.

That’s the problem with people who live a life of material consumption.

That’s all there is.

And it’s a road that gets old really quick.

We can only indulge ourselves so much before it gets old.

It’s when we turn our attention to others that we really start getting fulfilled.

And when you find something more to do with your life than to consume, something you’re passionate about, something that’s meaningful to you, that makes a difference to people around you, you’ll find your whole life will start to revolve around that.

It will become that center mass that things start gravitating toward, to surround and “coat” much like what happens when a pearl begins to form, that includes the right reference group, a reference group that will support that cause instead of one that tempts you to run the material consumption treadmill.

And that usually happens after a triggering event.

It’s the path that’s most likely to get someone on the road to a simple life.

Triggering Event leads to -> A Goal Outside of Material Consumption -> which helps attract the Right Reference Group to Support That Goal.

But the problem with that path is that you usually can’t “force” a triggering event.

It usually builds itself up over time and presents itself at times that look like “crossroads” in your life.

You know that saying that life only gives you so many opportunities?

It falls in line with what we’re talking about here in the sense that life only gives you so many “triggering events” to really wipe the slate clean and change the direction of your life.

So pay attention to any buildup that’s occurring in your life that might result in a triggering event.

Maybe you’re beginning to resent your job.
Maybe you’re beginning to really want to start a family.
Maybe you’re beginning to lose faith in the religion you were raised in.

Whatever the buildup is, listen to it.

It will probably lead to a triggering event that will help you set a goal outside of the pursuit of material consumption and in the process, attract the right reference group to support it, helping you overcome the top reasons that stop most people from living the simple life and enjoying it.

  
     

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