Jill Hubbard Cleaver
2 min readFeb 24, 2022

THE “ONE RULE” RULE

Simplicity is so refreshing.

Creating too many rules for yourself can be confusing, overwhelming and discouraging.

It’s challenging to remember and keep so many rules. Also, when we don’t keep the rules we make for ourselves we may lose respect and trust in ourselves, just as sometimes happens when a friend makes promises to us which they don’t keep.

What would it be like to have just one rule per area of life?

For example:

Food: Eat like a lady (or gentleman).

Fitness: Move, every day, a lot.

Mood: Get outside in nature, a lot.

Relationships: Smile

Work and Service: Figure out how to make it fun.

Money: Abundance mentality.

Education: Read, a lot.

House Cleaning: 10-minute cleanup twice a day.

Thoughts: Immerse yourself in light.

Does that feel easier than tons of rules and overthinking? Take food for example. Counting calories and carbohydrates, measuring and tracking sounds exhausting and restrictive. Instead, we could ask ourselves at every meal, “What would eating like a lady or gentleman look like right now?” Then we wouldn’t want to gulp or overeat or eat unbalanced.

The “one rule” rule brings a sense of freedom.

If you find yourself feeling moody, instead of thinking, “I should do this and this and this…” just drop everything and get outside in nature for a while.

To simplify life even more, pick one rule for your life in general?

Examples:

Be nice and work hard

Never give up

Believe

Try again

Pray always

It’s all good

Work, Play, Scriptures, Pray

Joy in the journey

Balance

Everything is an adventure

Be decisive

I invite you to try the “one rule” rule for a few weeks and see if it makes your life feel more simple, easy and free. I’d love to hear how it goes for you!