“Simplify, Simplify, Simplify” — 3 Words, a Life-Changing Trick
The best advice I’ve ever applied
What if life was supposed to be extremely simple? Breathing souls, parachuted to Earth, free to do what they want as long as it does not harm others, and this for a limited time.
They connect with each other, spend their time doing what brings them joy, contribute to society in exchange for money, which allows them to obtain the immense privilege and pleasure of eating rather delicious food in thousands of different dishes, to afford a place to live and to buy themselves moments of joy.
Isn’t that what we have?
The fact is that we had to make things more complex because we were bored. You know, humans. They can’t be satisfied with what they have, they always need more. What a strange species…
So we invented things to do to occupy our time, and problems to occupy our minds.
When in fact, if you fix and limit your attention to that one moment, everything’s quite all right, isn’t it?
“Narrow your life down to this moment. Your life situation may be full of problems — most life situations are — but find out if you have a problem at this moment. Do you have a problem now?” — Eckhart Tolle
Sit down for a minute and consider the universe…
I’ve always been intrigued by the universe. I often take a moment to reflect on what lies behind the walls of our planet Earth. I mean, please, let’s think about it for a moment.
Our little big colony of breathing souls spends its time walking around a blue sphere, full of wonderful places and other little breathing souls. But what is thereafter our blue sky and its incredible variations in color?
Void.
Even the word is amazing. Void. The nothingness brought to its climax. And inside are other colored spheres, a big bright warm yellow thing called Sun, stars, some moving, some just sitting, contemplating what’s around them. And many, many other things that we can’t even imagine since we can’t even deal with the notion of “constant expansion”.
Once you’ve got this in mind, picture yourself, reading those words on your tiny bit of planet. Compare your smallness to the vastness of the universe. How’s the contrast? Mine is huge, crazy, enormous, and wonderful.
Practicing this contrast has an immense advantage. It gives us a scale. And in comparison, everything that makes our life seem very simple.
Seize that simplicity, and unclutter your mind
My mother is constantly worried, anxious, stressed, disturbed, tense, and almost always about things that are beyond her control. Even now, while we are on a family vacation in the middle of the French Alps, she is half here, and half thinking about things that could very well wait for her return.
My August paycheck will be ridiculous. I know that now. I also have a lot of things on my mind, things to finish before a fairly close deadline, and my daily dose of worries, just like everyone else.
The difference between my mother and me is that I’ve made a choice that she hasn’t made yet. I’ve decided to focus on three things:
- The things I can control;
- The things I have to deal with right now;
- The things that bring me true joy, the ones that are part of my happiness.
I like the following quote because it illustrates my vision of life quite well:
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak” — Hans Hofmann
I have found that focusing on specific things rather than trying to “live big” reduces a lot of unnecessary stress. I think this is the message Hans Hofmann wanted to convey: choose a few things and focus on them.
Fewer things, fewer problems, less stress, more lightness, more joy, more happiness.
In three words: simplify, simplify, simplify.
It’s the simplest but most effective advice I’ve ever applied to my life
“We are happy in proportion to the things we can do without” — Henry David Thoreau
Simplicity is the key to a happy life. Experience it now: imagine your mind like a blue sky, cluttered with clouds. Now consider each cloud, each one corresponding to a problem, a concern, stress or something that’s on your mind, and decide: is it that important? Does it deserve my attention and consideration? Eliminate the clouds.
Clutter-free sky, clutter-free mind.
Now you can focus on the few real concerns in your life. Those related to the things that bring you true joy, or true inspiration, or that true spark of fire energy. The things that are most “you”.
I have chosen the following:
- Writing, because it’s what helps me organize my thoughts, my life, makes me happy and earns me a living.
- Consideration for my body, which goes through a lot of sport and walking, because it helps me focus and release my negative energies while providing me with a huge energy reserve and a positive body image; and healthy eating, because I like to eat well and provide my body with what it needs.
- Few but strong bonds, with my family but also with a few carefully chosen people, with whom I can spend moments that make me feel alive, and exchange considerations that help both of us evolve and find new ways and perspectives in life.
- Moments of life, which are linked to the previous ones since I like to spend them with my favorite people, but also alone. These moments can be trips, but also walks in nature, drinks at the bar, delicious dinners, big laughs, and exploration of the world near or far accompanied by my camera. That’s what I prefer to spend money on: moments, not things.
Choose a few things that give meaning to your life and focus on them. This means that you must first find yourself, through honest questioning and observation of your thoughts, tastes, and reactions. What brings a spark of excitement to your ribs? To what kind of proposition would you say “Hell, yeah!”?
Lower your expectations of life, but not your standards. Choose quality over quantity.
Declutter, simplify, and focus.
That’s what makes my life happy.
