We do a really great job of making things complex. In so doing, we never truly get to our fullest potential. We work super hard to sustain momentum and just keeping our heads above the water line.
Being simple and creating the simple in the complex has the power to conserve the best version of yourself for just the right moment you need it. I love how Steve puts it:
Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains. – Steve Jobs
With this first post I wanted to just get you to think about simplicity and how it helps us optimize our best selves. It’s a value that few books spend time talking about as a strategy and even fewer companies focus on it as a requirement like Apple.
Simplicity and living simplistic is not a new thing. It goes way back and can be found in religious texts, health practices of old, martial arts, psychological teachings, and art. Probably where you’ve noticed it the most is in design. Designers appreciate the way simplicity tells the story of their art and work. The purer, the better. Modern teachings in psychology tells us that enjoying the simple joys in life like love adds to our overall wellness or health in a very positive way.
Why? Simplicity helps us optimize. In several posts I’ve talked about the century of disruption we all live in now with instant everything in our pockets. Our attention span has dramatically decreased. We live everyday in the complex because we think we have no other option. This drives us to live a life with less intention and honestly no purpose.
Simplicity frees us from all the noise around us. It centers us and makes us find ourselves in the present moment. Our purest self. For better, or worse. With this noise filtered out as we get great at simplifying we can concentrate on what is essential for a incredible life or goal.
The next few posts going into the weekend we will take a look at some options and practices that can help like the Pareto Principle and practicing like an Essentialist. Together, we will build a commitment and plan that will help us stay in the simple as often as we can. To practice it more actively and get much better at being more agile at simplicity on demand.
Our goal is simple (sorry, couldn’t help it) by the end of Sunday and the week. We will simplify problems we think we have in our lives and focus on the necessary to enjoy what’s real.
Here’s a quote from another Steve, Stephen Covey, that really sets us up:
The main thing is to to keep the main thing the main thing.
Talk to you soon. Thanks for reading!
Shawn
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