The Art Of Keeping It Simple

Keep it simple!

That small three-word imperative is like a tautology – it covers many, many things. For instance, keeping it simple can help you understand something better, or clarify your thinking around an issue; it might help you sort through how you feel about a personal problem. It can significantly impact how and where you live, right down to how you choose your friends and food.

In science, there’s an elegance to keeping it simple that is appealing to our sense of order. Some might maintain that’s just as true in our daily lives.

And, just as with any other 3-word imperative, keeping it simple isn’t all that simple!

There’s an art to keeping our lives simple that is unique to each of us: it depends on what we tend to complicate, and that’s very personal and individual.  

For me, it’s good to remember to simplify when I begin to worry, because that’s when I tend to complicate things. When my what if’s spiral. When my list of things to do get unwieldy.

In the Ted Talk below, Eric Berlow talks about simplifying complexity from his point of view. I wasn’t that enlightened after I’d heard it, so decided to use it as a jumping off point to see if I could come up with something that is more useful for me.

His model was based on his ecological studies. My model for my life, on the other hand, is mostly based on my needs and desires. Oh, and also triggers. What I’ve discovered is that all three of these things – needs, desires and triggers – interact to create complexity. What I’ve also discovered is that once I remove the trigger, some of those needs and desires change, and life gets a lot simpler.

Here’s a personal example: I recently moved and want to re-establish my business in this new location. For me that’s both a need and a desire. But there are complications – licensing, marketing, networking, possibly re-educating, and so on. There are also other activities and projects I have on the go that I feel are important to me. How do I fit them all in? What do I focus on? Well, it turned out that some of these needs and desires were tied to work I’d already spent a lot of time and effort on and was unwilling to let go. What I really needed to do was to take a look at these things, and then either let them go or reprioritize them so that I was free to focus on what was truly essential in the moment.

The trigger was not wanting to let go or give up on something – always difficult for me. Once I became aware of that, then I could simplify.

Quote of the Week

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. - Leonardo d Vinci

Simplifying complexity

Maryanne Nicholls is a Registered Psychotherapist.  To find out more, gain access to her weekly newsletter, meditations and programmes, sign up at www.thejoyofliving.co .