Simple is in. From writers, to software designers, to entrepreneurs and students, it seems like everyone is trying to do less and simplify their lives.
But why do we seek simplicity and minimalism in the first place? That’s a question that doesn’t get asked often enough – especially because the answer is different for everyone.
For some people, a simple life is less stressful. For others, the act of simplifying is stressful in and of itself.
For some people, having less is a way to make a statement against rampant consumerism. For others, it’s a way to boost their personal productivity.
Why we pursue simplicity determines how we pursue it.
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Editor’s Note: This is a guest post from Omar Eduardo.
During my Junior year in college, I started to take a real interest in learning about happiness and the differences between those who seemed to have abundance of it vs. those who seemed to lack it. What intrigued me was the disparity between these groups. Some people seemed to have everything they ever wished for, yet were unhappy, while others seemed to be happy even when not having much.
There are three simple things I tried out during this time that have made a drastic difference in my approach to life. Not only have these changes altered the way I think about life, they have made a great difference in how others perceive me and how often they approach me for a conversation or even advice.
Be aware of these during your day; they will positively impact you and those around you. These are simple, and sort of logical, but require practice and discipline to really keep it and enjoy the powerful benefits they have.
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I’m the kind of person that likes to think everything through before doing anything. I prefer to be methodical, to understand something from every angle before moving forward with it.
Often, this gets me into trouble.
When you’re concerned with knowing exactly what to do before you do it, it’s easy to get stuck in a fog of indecision. This is where most people give up. The more you hypothesize and theorize, the more you run through every possible scenario in your head, the more confused and indecisive and frustrated you get. It’s worse than a lack of motivation; it’s the feeling of being hopelessly lost. You desperately want to get started, but you can’t decide where to take the first step.
You ask yourself: How am I going to do this? What if that happens? What will so-and-so think? How can I make sure nothing goes wrong?
Does this sound familiar?
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To change the world, you’ll need a team. You might be the fearless leader, the one making the big decisions and coming up with the best ideas, and you might have different names for your team: an army, an inner circle, a support group, a family – but you’ll still need a team.
Your team doesn’t have to be big. In fact, the more efficiently you work, the smaller your team can be. Swollen teams are clutter too.
The first rule of choosing team members is this: find people who make you feel dumb, but who feel dumb around you.
In other words, team up with people who are strong where you are weak, and weak where you are strong.
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When you’re doing well in life, sooner or later someone will say this to you. Perhaps not in those exact words. They might say: “You must be doing something unethical” or “You must have some connections” or “You just got a lucky break.”
Most people have a hard time believing – truly, honestly believing – that it’s possible for someone else to be smarter, faster, or more hardworking than they are. So when they get left behind in the dust, their first reaction is: “I followed the rules and ended up here, so the people ahead of me must be cheating somehow.”
Ignore these people. Don’t let them tell you that what you’re doing isn’t fair or right. Make that judgment for yourself, then stand by it and keep working hard.
But what if you’re on the other side of the fence? What if you’re watching someone else experience success after success, while you’re spinning your wheels and getting nowhere?
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