What I see in different shades of gray, from behind my reading glasses
Leo Babauta discovered the crutches he used in his life (eg smoking) and gave them up. Quite easy to do, he says:
I meditate, drink tea mindfully, run and workout, go for walks, give myself more space in the day, let go of the expectations/ideals that are causing the stress in the first place. I find pleasure in all of these things, and in socializing with good friends, and in a good book, and don’t need to smoke to find pleasure anymore.
Leo Babuta offers a few:
How do you start [to declutter your life] when you’re facing a mountain of clutter, and another mountain of commitments, and piles of files and mail and email and other digital information? The answer became clear, as I got started: start simply. Keep it simple as you go. Simple, each step of the way.
With an increasing number of options in almost every aspect of life, we presume that our results in each of those areas should be getting better and better, because with each new possibility it becomes more likely that one of them suits us perfectly. Our expectations for perfection and total satisfaction are too high.
“The hardest thing in the world is to simplify your life. It’s so easy to make it complex.” – Yvon Chouinard