Since beginning slow living a few years ago, I’ve definitely felt happier. However, after taking things a step further this year by simplifying my life, I discovered a deeper, steadier and more lasting kind of happiness.
So here’s how simplicity transformed my life and brought me even more happiness.
Creating My Space
When I decluttered my space, I didn’t just free up shelves, I freed my mind. Since I wanted to embrace being a homebody, I started with the place I spend most of my time, my desk. Clearing it out and keeping only the things I love and actually use made a huge difference. Now my desk feels like a space that supports me instead of overwhelming me.
From there, I began reducing visible clutter around the rest of my room. I still own plenty of things, because change doesn’t happen overnight and simplicity isn’t about abandoning everything. The difference is that now, most of what I keep has meaning or purpose. When I look around my room, I’m no longer surrounded by clutter, and that brings me a sense of calm.
Freedom of Time
One of the greatest luxuries in life isn’t money, possessions, or status, it’s time. The freedom to choose how I spend my hours has brought me more happiness than anything material ever could, which is why I chose to do freelance work.
Choosing time over money comes with its own responsibilities. I have to budget carefully and live within my means. It might seem pressurising, but to me, it feels empowering. It’s more than just a way of making sure my choices support the life I want to live. It also happens to bring me joy because I get to use tools I love, stationery, planners, and notebooks.
Not Conforming to Society’s Expectations
For much of my life, I felt the weight of society’s way of living. Get a stable job, earn a certain income, buy a house, find a partner, get married, start a family and achieving these milestones means success.
For the introverted and shy person that I am, those expectations felt suffocating. They demanded a lifestyle centered on social interaction, competition, and comparison, which are things that makes me feel anxious rather than fulfilled.
When I stopped measuring myself against society’s standards, I redefined success in my own terms. It meant living in alignment with my values, even if that looked different from what is expected. That shift alone brought me a tremendous sense of happiness and peace.
Embracing my Introversion
As mentioned above, society’s expectations is extroverted, which is overwhelming for me. By being a homebody and embracing my introversion, I discovered I had more energy for what really mattered.
Instead of forcing myself to fit into an overwhelming world, I am now filling my time with things that makes me feel alive. That authenticity has been one of the biggest sources of happiness in my life.
Living True to Myself
In my previous post on 5 ways to embrace simplicity, one of the ways is to live in alignment with your values. Happiness is one of my values and simplifying my life helped me live in alignment with that value.
Another value of mine is health, and I’ve come to see how closely it’s connected to happiness. When I take care of my body, I notice a difference in my mood and mindset. Any progress towards better health, no matter how small, brings me satisfaction and happiness.
So that’s how simplifying my life brought me more happiness. Every step helped me feel lighter and more at ease, but the biggest contributor is allowing myself to fully embrace being introverted.
Simplifying my life isn’t just about having less, it’s about making room for who I truly am. By embracing my introversion instead of fighting it, I’m building a life that feels authentic, sustainable, and deeply joyful.