Sometimes you feel like life is weighing you down. You worry too much. You strive to be perfect all the time. You overanalyze everything others think about you. It sucks, doesn’t it? You want to feel lighter. Calmer. Happier even. You just want to let all that stress go and enjoy life.
Welcome to being carefree.
Carefree doesn’t mean carelessly wandering through life though. It doesn’t mean neglecting your life or doing wild things you don’t care about others. Being carefree is about releasing yourself from too much care. It’s about not letting fear or expectations control your life. Carefree is about enjoying life, stressing less, and learning how to go with the flow.
Wondering how to be more carefree? It won’t happen overnight, but there are baby steps you can take. Here are 5 ways you can learn to let go and become a carefree butterfly.
How to be a Carefree Person
Step 1: Stop Caring About What Others Say
Letting go of what others think about you is one of the best ways to free yourself. Whether you know them or not, people are always judging you. You wear certain clothes. You talk a certain way. You might even act completely different around people you want to like you. Afraid to speak your mind? Too scared to pursue your dreams? People care.
Living a carefree life means no longer giving a crap what others think. You’ll never please everyone and that’s okay. You weren’t born to please everyone. You weren’t born to be the same as everyone else.
The truth is most people don’t care about you as much as you think. They’re too worried about themselves and their own lives. That means you don’t have to spend your energy pleasing them.
Trying to please everyone means losing yourself. When you allow yourself to be who you are, the right people will be attracted to you.
Start by being honest in what you say (even if your voice shakes), wear what you want to wear. Speak up for yourself. Don’t eat the same salad as everyone else just so you fit in. The more you allow yourself to shine through, the more free you’ll become.
Click here to read: How to Stop Living in Fear – 8 Guides
Step 2: Stop Trying to Control Everything
Losing your peace of mind often comes when you try to control everything around you. You plan every detail. You try to control your circumstances and expect life to go your way. You do the same thing every day and hope for the best.
Life happens though. Things don’t always go according to plan. People change. You change. Unexpected stuff happens. That’s life.
The more you try to control everything that happens, the angrier you’ll become when things don’t go your way. Learning how to live freely means letting go of the need to control everything. You can still make plans, set goals, and do your part. But once you’ve done your part, you have to let things be. That’s how you find peace. You learn to stop fighting against life and just flow with it.
Next time you’re stuck in traffic, ranting and raging won’t make the cars move faster. If someone doesn’t like you, overanalyzing why won’t fix it. If your plans don’t work out, blaming yourself won’t make it right.
Do your part and let life happen. You can’t control everything to go your way.
Want to learn how to stop trying to control everything? Mindfulness is a great practice that can help you let go. According to a study published in Psychological Science, mindfulness helped people deal with stressors better and accept what was happening around them.
Click here to read: How to Stop Being Condescending: 10 Tips to Improve Your Behavior
Step 3: Stay Present
Carefree living starts with your mind. Most anxiety or stress we feel is attributed to thinking too much about the past or future. You dwell on past mistakes. What if I did this? What if I didn’t do that? Or you stress about the future. Will this happen? What if I fail?
Yet the past is gone and the future hasn’t arrived. All you have is this moment, right now.
Living a carefree life is all about learning to stay present. When you’re present, your mind feels clearer and lighter. You’re not trapped in regret or fear. You’re simply living.
That doesn’t mean you should never think about the past or plan for the future. It just means don’t live there. Learn from the past. Dream about the future. Then bring yourself back to now.
Start by becoming aware of your surroundings. Look at the sky. Listen to the sounds around you. Become aware of your breathing going in and out. Little habits like these will help you stay present.
The Greater Good Science Center has plenty of great information on mindfulness and how it can help you reduce stress by staying in the present.
Step 4: Don’t Take Things Personally
Letting others’ stuff affect your mood or day steals your ability to live freely. Someone says something and you take it personally. Your friend doesn’t reply to your text and you feel rejected. A stranger stares at you funny and you assume you did something wrong.
Truth is what others say and do usually has little to do with you. Maybe that person is just having a bad day. Maybe they got distracted. Maybe they’re going through something you know nothing about. Maybe what you heard wasn’t even about you at all.
When you take things personally, you allow others to dictate how you feel about yourself. Whatever they say or do is controlling your emotions. That’s not living freely.
Learn how to stop taking things personally and you’ll have a happier, carefree life. Remind yourself, “That’s not mine to worry about.” or “That’s more about them than it is about me.”
These little phrases can help you let go of other peoples’ emotions or careless words.
Working on setting emotional boundaries will allow you to develop this mentality. Dr. Henry Cloud talks about this in his book titled Boundaries. He does an amazing job of teaching you where others’ emotions end and yours begin. Check out his book HERE to learn more about setting emotional boundaries.
Step 5: Choose Happy
Lastly, being carefree isn’t about life being perfect all the time. It doesn’t mean you won’t have problems. You’re human. Stuff happens. Being carefree is choosing to be happy anyways.
Choosing happy is a decision you can make every day.
You can choose to find joy in the little things: birds chirping, your favorite hot drink, a smile from a stranger, or a funny joke. Sure these things are small and insignificant. But they help you realize that life isn’t all bad.
Make time to do things that make you happy. Dance, take walks, draw, sing, play your favorite sport. You don’t stop having fun because you’re an adult. You just have to purposely make time for it.
Happiness isn’t something that will just happen to you when life is going good. Happiness is a choice that you must choose over and over again. The more you choose it, the easier it becomes to live without worry.
Final Thoughts
Living a carefree life isn’t about flipping a switch and suddenly changing your entire life. It’s about making small changes in your thoughts, actions, and perspective on life. You’ll learn how to relax, let go of what you can’t control, stay present, and care less about the things that don’t matter.
You don’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to fix everything that goes wrong. You don’t have to be everyone’s friend. All you have to do is take small steps to living a more carefree life.
Be yourself. Let go. Stay present. Let others’ stuff be their problem. And choose happy, even when your life is far from perfect.
That’s how you live a carefree life.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to live a carefree life?
Being carefree means releasing yourself from caring too much and not letting fear or expectations control your life.
Does being carefree mean I don’t care about anything?
No. Being carefree doesn’t mean neglecting your life or acting carelessly. It’s about stressing less and learning to go with the flow.
How can I stop caring so much about what people think?
Start by being honest in what you say, wearing what you want to wear, and speaking up for yourself, even if your voice shakes.
How do I stay present when my mind keeps racing?
Start by becoming aware of your surroundings and your breathing. Small habits like these can help bring you back to the moment.
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