Living with Less
By Jill Savage

No

Today I said “no.” It was in response to something someone asked me to do. I wanted to participate, but I realized that doing so would put too much into one day. I needed to simplify. To leave some margin in my day. To choose less.
 
Living with less doesn’t always have to be about money. It can also be about living with less stress or living with less activity. 
 
I’m a type A-driven personality…much like the Energizer Bunny we see on the television commercials. I can keep going and going and going. But just because I can do that, doesn’t mean that I should do that. It’s not healthy for me…or my family.
 
I’m still learning this lesson, but it’s starting to get easier than it used to be. Over time I’ve learned the value of margin: leaving enough white space in your life for, well...life! Everyday life is honestly just moving from one interruption to another. And the interruptions are often about people. And people are the most important part of life. 
 
It’s seems silly to say that we need to make room in our lives for real life, but it’s absolutely true. Opportunities abound for us, for our kids, for our family. But while most of those opportunities are good, they may not be best for us or our family.This is where living with less activity can actually give us more time for the people who are most important to us.
 
What about you…what have you said no to lately?

Jill Savage is a seven-time author and  Founder and CEO of Hearts at Home, an organization that encourages, educates, and equips moms.  She is the mom of three adult children and two teenagers still at home. You can find Jill online here at Guideposts as well as on her personal blog jillsavage.org or the Hearts at Home blog and website hearts-at-home.org.

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