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Let's Stop Making Life More Complicated Than it Needs to Be

Updated 6/19/2020
Let's Stop Making Life More Complicated Than it Needs to Be
If you want to be unstoppable this year, all you need to do is choose to behave a certain way. Commit to an attitude and behavior and you'll soar.

Unstoppable.

That’s the word that jumped out at me when my colleague shared a Medium article titled, “30 Behaviors That Will Make You Unstoppable.”

The article was basically just what I needed to get motivated this month. Truth be told, I’m less of a New Year’s resolution person and more the kind of person who seeks out new habits that’ll positively benefit myself, as well as the people around me.

And that’s why #21—choose simplicity over complication—jumped out at me.

This isn’t about taking the easy route or not embracing or seeking challenges; rather, it’s about not overthinking things, not overanalyzing those items that don’t need to be dissected. Too often, my habit is to overcomplicate or even just complicate matters that are undeserving of that response.

In the office, it may mean accepting something at face value and not asking a million and one questions every time a process changes or a new task is given. Or when it comes to my work, it might mean participating in meetings when my feedback is requested and not overthinking every single thing that was said or noted to the point where I follow up on it later that night when I'm supposed to be unwinding at home.

The thing is, life is complicated enough in and of itself, and when we insist on making this true about everything we do and say, we waste valuable time and energy. We stop ourselves from moving forward.

I’m not saying that a curious mind isn’t a good thing, but I am saying is that it’s important to think before speaking. To listen and digest before acting. That’s choosing simplicity wherever possible. And that’s what I’m going to embrace this year.


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Stacey Lastoe started writing short stories in the second grade and is immensely grateful to have the opportunity to write and edit professionally. Her work has appeared in YouBeauty, Refinery29, A Practical Wedding, Runner's World online, and The Billfold among other publications. She enjoys running and eating in equal measure and lives with her husband and dog in Brooklyn. All three of them are avid New York Mets fans. Say hello on @stacespeaks.
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