3 (Unexpected) Laws of Simplicity

1. Simplicity implies purpose. Simplicity demands that we seek out the necessary and avoid the unnecessary. It does not always mean “less” – instead, it means “no more than I need.” To understand what you need means understanding purpose: the purpose of a thing, a commitment, an action, and how all these purposes flow into your purpose.

That which is cluttered has often lost sight of its purpose.

Discovering purpose is rarely easy – and there is only one sure way to do it. That way is experience. Do things. Experiment. Triumph – and make mistakes. Learn what makes you tick, and ask what makes other people and things tick. When you understand the why, it is easy to determine the what.

2. Simplicity also grows. Conventional wisdom says that simplicity is best achieved by subtraction. To find simplicity, we ought to start by getting rid of things, by clearing out our drawers and our schedules. This is a workable approach.

But, as I suggested (but perhaps never stated outright) in earlier posts, simplicity isn’t just about the reduction of clutter – it’s also about the expansion of the self: you, the individual, the unit of minimalism.

For example, instead of just cleaning house or canceling commitments, we might also begin by growing simplicity from the inside out. Instead of starting from clutter, start from the core of minimalism: yourself. What are you capable of? How can you become capable of more? Start from yourself, with no stuff, no tools, no clutter, then add instead of subtracting. Discover your abilities and your needs, then slowly add back the tools and commitments you need, as you need them.

One of the dilemmas that minimalists face is: “What do I eliminate?” But grow yourself, and you might find that the unnecessary falls away by itself.

3. Behind simplicity, there is always complexity. Leonardo da Vinci said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” He was right. When we achieve simplicity, it is not because we have eliminated complexity, but because we have conquered it.

Consider a phone call. With the touch of a few buttons, we can talk to someone on the other side of the world. Simple. But behind that call is a fantastically complicated network of towers and satellites and computers. The phone itself is made from hundreds of individual parts.

Even more incredible is the complexity of thought that took us from smoke signals to wireless signals. Each component, each technology had to be invented, discovered, and refined. We have access to simple phone calls because we (and those who came before us) have harnessed the amazing complexities behind them; we have mastered these complexities, so they become simple, effortless.

In our daily lives, we ought to understand that we can achieve simplicity in one of two ways: by conquering the complex, or by running from it. Which would you prefer?

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