01. Waste as little as possible, and want less.

01. Waste as little as possible, and want less.
02. Strive to always be pleasant
03. Believe in something bigger than you
04. Appreciate suffering, but not cynicism
05. Love people as they are, no matter what
06. Don't confuse potential for a promise
07. Do something productive, every day.
08. Never loan something you want to get back
09. Remember that the worst case scenario, is never that bad
10. Invest in before you withdraw from, yourself and others.

So I finally sat down and wrote a little bit on the first item on my list of ten things to make life easier. I really am going to eventually finish writing in detail about each of these little rules. For some of you I'm sure this is going to sound like common sense, but for some of you it's going to sound new... and that's exciting to me. I really do read this list every day, and I really do feel like it makes a difference. Again, any comments or questions are great. I'm working through this as I go. If you agree, I'd love to know why. If you disagree, I'd love to know why.

01. Waste as little as possible, and want less.
Okay, I'm serious about this: Redefine for yourself the word "need". Not just materialistically, but also physically, mentally, and emotionally. What do you really need? And if you want some perspective on what humans are capable of surviving off of just take a look at the world outside your civilization. Here's the truth, if you have food to eat, a place to sleep, your health, and a purpose, everything else in your life is a luxury. Now, I'm not saying that living a life of luxury is a bad thing, but to many people misplace the importance of things. We spend so much of our lives striving to attain expendable things in excess, if just a fraction of that energy can be redirected towards helping others who need help the world will be a better place. And once you learn to divert your expectations away from unnecessary excess you'll start to appreciate the things that are really important.
Negative things like greed, laziness, apathy, and selfishness can all stem from feeling obligated to have more than you need. The idea of "waste not, want not" has been around for ages because it's true. It protects a person from a skewed perspective that would lead to feeling unsatisfied without any true justification. The less you waste what you have, the less you'll need. We live in a society that thrives off of trying to convince you that the things you want, are things you can't live without, and that the things you have, are never good enough. We are taught from a very young age that success is tied to what you get out of your investments of time and money. This rule accomplishes two really wonderful things, the first being that being less wasteful and wanting less leaves more natural resources for the people who still have not met their most basic needs. Second, it manages to make you less stressed out. Once you've achieved satisfying your most basic needs, you'll feel blessed to have anything above and beyond that. This makes you more thankful, more generous, and more content. All that sounds good, and all it takes is a little shift in perspective. If you are reading this now, you must be sitting at a computer. That makes you a lucky person. You are blessed, know it.