Jessica Lyonford of zant On How Simplifying & Decluttering Your Life Can Make You Happier

Invest in experiences over possessions. Choose to spend your resources on experiences that create lasting memories rather than accumulating more stuff. Activities like learning a new instrument, traveling, or spending quality time with loved ones provide lasting joy and fulfillment.

We live in a time of great excess. We have access to fast fashion, fast food, and fast everything. But studies show that all of our “stuff” is not making us any happier. How can we simplify and focus on what’s important? How can we let go of all the clutter and excess and find true happiness? In this interview series, we are talking to coaches, mental health experts, and authors who share insights, stories, and personal anecdotes about “How Simplifying and Decluttering Your Life Can Make Us Happier.” As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Happiness Coach Jessica Lyonford.

Jessica Lyonford is an ICF-Certified Life Coach and the visionary founder behind Project More Happy, a company dedicated to spreading the science of happiness. Drawing from positive psychology, her framework of The Eight Pillars of Happiness helps people design lives rooted in purpose and joy. Jessica is also the host of the Project: More Happy podcast and serves as a certified provider on the zant app.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share your “backstory” with us? What was it that led you to your eventual career choice?

It’s ironic because the first part of my career was in advertising, promoting the very consumer behaviors that ultimately led me to happiness coaching and consulting. My story had a lot of twists and turns, yet it wasn’t all that exciting. But here it goes :)

I grew up middle-class in the Midwest, where I had a front-row seat to the rise of consumerism in the 80s and 90s, fueled by mass manufacturing and the explosion of TV in households. I was in high school when the Internet took off, spending too much time on AOL Messenger (my handle was jdfuzzy98 — HA!). By college, I had a Nokia cell phone, and my first real job saw iPhones replace Blackberries. My journey took me from a pre-Internet world to carrying a computer in my pocket. It’s mind-blowing to think about how fast that all happened.

As technology expanded, so did mass communication, leading to a boom in marketing and advertising that fueled consumerism. This shaped my beliefs and values. While I thrived as a creative in advertising at the start of my career journey, leveraging my creativity and communication skills, it conflicted with my values. I didn’t, and I still don’t believe people need excessive stuff to live fulfilling, meaningful lives. Yet, I was advertising cars, burgers, toys, and everything else, promoting the idea that happiness comes from buying things.

I learned firsthand that stuff doesn’t buy happiness. Despite having a good job, a big paycheck, a starter home, and a status car, I was miserable. This realization led me to study happiness and eventually found Project More Happy to make the science of happiness and human flourishing accessible to all.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?

​​I tend to use myself, my family, and our home as a test lab for living the science of happiness, so the most interesting stories often come from personal experience. This firsthand experience is invaluable when working with my coaching and consulting clients.

One significant experiment we undertook as a family was a No Spend Year. We were intentional about where we could spend (experiences and necessities) and where we couldn’t. This is especially challenging with young kids, but we managed surprisingly well.

During that year, we canceled most of our subscriptions. Amazon was the hardest to let go of because of its convenience. That was three years ago, and we haven’t gone back. Cutting out Amazon forced us to be intentional about our purchases. If we needed something, we would borrow it, find it locally, or improvise.

Our conversations about whether or not we needed something were pretty comical at first because we were good at justifying wants as needs. The longest debate we had was about whether or not we needed a Christmas tree that year.

The verdict? We wanted one for the kids, but we didn’t need one, and neither did they. So we improvised and made our own out of scrap wood and Christmas lights, and it’s now one of our favorite holiday traditions. The entire No Spend experience taught us the difference between what we think we need and what we truly need to flourish. It’s a lesson I share with my clients, emphasizing the shift from complacency to intentionality.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

I’m currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund the first print run of The Happiness Workout Deck. This project is the culmination of years of research in positive psychology, my personal happiness journey, and insights from my clients.

The Happiness Workout Deck is a simple tool that turns the science of happiness into easy-to-do exercises. So whether at home, work, school, or with family, the cards provide a simple yet powerful way to integrate happiness practices into your routine.

The tool is designed to bring daily joy and well-being through fun, science-backed exercises rooted in The Eight Pillars of Happiness.

If you want to learn more about it, you can visit our Kickstarter page here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/morehappy/practicing-happiness-the-happiness-workout-deck

Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority on the topic of “How Simplifying and Decluttering Your Life Can Make You Happier”?

I’m a happiness coach and consultant deeply invested in understanding the relationship between happiness and consumerism. My journey from a successful advertising career to making the science of happiness accessible to everyone has given me unique insights into this topic.

Unsurprisingly, external possessions don’t equate to overall happiness and well-being. Research shows that happiness is 50% genetic, 10% situational, and 40% the activities you engage in to boost your happiness. So while consumerism can influence that 10%, that chunk also includes your job, relationships, living situation, health, and much more. So material possessions and ‘stuff’ don’t significantly impact our happiness.

Truly understanding the science of happiness and human flourishing, and applying it to our everyday lives, is key to increasing well-being. Simplifying and decluttering help alleviate unnecessary stress, allowing us to focus on living intentionally and designing lives we love.

Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. We live in a time of excess. We have access to so much. But studies show that all of our “stuff” is not making us any happier. Can you articulate for our readers a few reasons why all of our possessions are not giving us happiness?

We live in a time of excess, yet all our possessions don’t lead to lasting happiness. One reason is the time waste. The more stuff you have, the more time you spend taking care of it, which takes up valuable space and time in our lives.

Possessions often become barriers in relationships because they can symbolize status and hierarchy, isolating us from others. Consumerism drives competition and jealousy rather than fostering compassion and shared gratitude.

In addition, the mental and financial stress of keeping up with societal standards, or “the Joneses,” is significant. We worry about making more money to buy more stuff, creating a heavy burden.

Science shows that investing in experiences makes us happier for longer than buying material things. Experiences provide enjoyment at least three times: in anticipation, during the experience, and through savoring the memories.

In contrast, possessions give a quick dopamine hit, but we quickly return to our baseline happiness. Investing in experiences and living life is where we can truly impact our overall happiness and well-being.

On a broader societal level, how do you think this excessiveness may be harming our communities and society?

The excessive focus on possessions is having a huge impact on our communities by weakening relationships. It creates a divide between the haves and the have-nots, justifying massive wealth accumulation and eroding the sense of community.

Additionally, this excess is neither environmentally nor economically sustainable. The more we push to maintain high levels of consumerism, the more harm we do to our planet and to each other. We are all connected. Our actions and consumer habits directly impact people across the globe. These impacts are felt in politics, extreme weather and droughts and will continue to cause harm.

This excessive consumerism adds to my stress here and hurts people worldwide. Our choices matter when it comes to happiness and human flourishing. Understanding our relationship with ‘stuff’ is crucial in addressing many of the challenges humanity is currently facing.

The irony of struggling with happiness in modern times is glaring. In many places in the world today, we have more than ever before in history. Yet despite this, so many people are unhappy. Why is simplifying a solution? How would simplifying help people to access happiness?

We open the door to happiness when we strip away all the external clutter and create spaces and environments that allow us the time, space, and capacity to focus inward.

We live in a world designed for distraction, where our attention is the current currency. Products, services, and apps are all designed to steal that attention. There’s a saying, “Where your attention goes, your energy flows.” If we constantly give our attention away, there is no energy left for ourselves and our happiness.

Gratitude is one of the Eight Pillars of Happiness. There’s another saying that gratitude turns what we have into enough. By removing external clutter, we can focus on the goodness we already have. This focus on gratitude is where we truly find abundance and happiness.

Can you share some insights from your own experience? Where in your life have you transformed yourself from not having enough to finally experiencing enough? For example, many people feel they don’t have enough money. Yet, people define abundance differently, and often, those with the least money can feel the most abundant. Where in your health, wealth, or relationships have you transformed your life?

​​Great question! There are many ways, honestly. My family’s No Spend Year was certainly one of them.

I think my biggest transformation from a feeling of lack to a feeling of abundance has come through relationships. Growing up, I struggled immensely with not being popular or feeling accepted. I carried the narrative that to be a successful person, everyone had to like you. That narrative is pretty common and also terribly hurtful. I never felt good enough because I lacked popularity.

Today, my narrative around relationships is drastically different. I am so blessed when it comes to the people in my life. I have deep, solid, nourishing relationships with my partner and kids. I have meaningful connections around my spirituality and that journey. I have the people I need in my life when I need them.

A couple of things changed to get me here. First, I realized that we are not meant to be liked by everyone. We are meant to love and care for one another but not necessarily be friends with everyone, right? I don’t like everyone, so why would I expect everyone to like me?

The second, and perhaps biggest revelation, is that people are meant to come in and out of our lives. We are all on overlapping journeys, and the people we need will find one another at different points. I’m deeply grateful for the people around me. I let people come and go as they need to on their journeys. There isn’t an attachment to people but an intentionality around my relationships with them. I have experienced abundant people, love, inspiration, and collaboration — all wonderful gifts that enrich my life.

People, places, and things shape our lives. For example, your friends generate conversations that influence you. Where you live impacts what you eat and how you spend your time. The “things” in your life, like phones, technology, or books impact your recreation. Can you tell us a little about how people, places, and things in your own life impact your experience of “experiencing enough?”

To me, it always goes back to intentionality. When I am intentional with my life, living in alignment with my values and dreams and investing in what I want more of while removing what steals my energy, I feel the most abundant.

What does this look like? It means living in a walkable neighborhood where the neighbors know and look out for each other. It involves investing in experiences that make me feel alive and spark joy, like learning to play the ukulele or spending evenings shooting hoops on the driveway with my kids. It means having screen-free Sundays spent playing board games, building LEGOs, or hiking.

To get here, I had to do a lot of inner work to understand and define what happiness and success look like to me personally and to my family. Once we had those definitions, it became much easier to surround ourselves with the people, experiences, and tools needed to live them out.

What advice would you give to younger people about “experiencing enough?”

Focus on the goodness and abundance already around you. Put your energy toward the people and experiences that light you up and make you feel whole. Drop the expectations and labels that don’t fit you and the life you want for yourself. Get intentional about designing the life you do want.

When you start living life on your terms, aligned with your values and dreams, you’ll always find abundance and goodness to celebrate.

This is the main question of our interview. Based on your experience and research, can you share your “five ways we can simplify and declutter our lives to make us happier?”

1. Prioritize intentional living. Focus on aligning your daily activities with your core values and dreams. Remove the tasks and commitments that drain your energy and don’t contribute to your overall happiness. By living intentionally, you create more space for what truly matters.
2. Declutter your physical space. Remove excess items from your home that no longer serve a purpose or bring you joy. A clutter-free space reduces stress and increases your ability to focus on meaningful activities and relationships.
3. Limit digital distractions. Set boundaries for your screen time and digital consumption. Designate screen-free times, like Sundays, to engage in offline activities that enrich your life.
4. Invest in experiences over possessions. Choose to spend your resources on experiences that create lasting memories rather than accumulating more stuff. Activities like learning a new instrument, traveling, or spending quality time with loved ones provide lasting joy and fulfillment.
5. Cultivate gratitude. Regularly practice gratitude by acknowledging the abundance and goodness in your life. Focus on what you have rather than what you lack. This shift in perspective will help you appreciate the present moment and foster a sense of abundance and happiness.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

If I could inspire a movement that would bring the most good to the most people, it would be Project More Happy. At Project More Happy, we believe in making the pursuit of happiness accessible to all. Our vision is a world that is more just, more sustainable, and more firmly rooted in our shared humanity.

Happiness has the power to change the world. As more and more people invest in their happiness, our communities and the larger world will flourish.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Readers can learn more about Project More Happy’s work and how to collaborate with me by visiting projectmorehappy.com. You can also follow me on Instagram @themorehappycoach. And you can find me on the zant app, where you can sign up and get your first coaching session for free.

Thank you so much for these insights. This was so inspiring, and so important!