279 Do More With Less; Discover The Simple Life With Courtney Carver

Courtney Carver is an advocate for the simple life. She says, we are often on a quest for more; we give in to pressure every day to work more, own more, and do more. For Courtney, this constant striving had to come to a stop when she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Stress was like gasoline on the fire of symptoms, and it became clear that she needed to root out the physical and psychological clutter that were the source of her debt and discontent. Courtney shows us how to pursue practical minimalism so we can create more with less—more space, more time, and even more love. Carver invites us to look at the big picture, discover what’s most important to us, and reclaim lightness and ease by getting rid of all the excess things.

Contact Info

• Website: www.BeMoreWithLess.com
• New Book: Soulful Simplicity

Most Influential Person

• My daughter.

Effect on Emotions

• Mindfulness has encouraged me to under-react, which has been a game-changer.

Thoughts on Breathing

• I use breathing for everything. When I breathe during meditation practices, I breathe in traffic. I breathe intentionally when I have MRI's to check my brain out. It just helps me slow everything down.

Suggested Resources

• Book: The Artist's Way by Julie Cameron
• App: Headspace

Bullying Story

• I feel really grateful that, while growing up, I didn't experience any bullying and in most of my relationships, not.
• I was married in my twenties for seven years and there was a lot of bullying. It was a really bad situation for a long time and mindfulness wasn't part of my life then and neither was simplicity.
• I was really stressed out and I know for a fact that I could have handled things differently. I don't think I would have over-reacted or reacted the way that I did in certain situations and I would have known myself better, had I been more mindful.
• I wouldn't have thought that, the things my exhusband would say about me or accuse me of, I would know that wasn't about me, that was about him.
• I wouldn't have tried to change myself to be someone different to fit. Instead I would have just not reacted and let him change or walk away.
• Instead I really tried to hold on, to fix myself. I really took everything he said to heart and now I can look back and say, it had nothing to do with me.
• It could have been anyone in that situation and it still wouldn't have worked out.