Simplicity is sophistication

July 24, 2017
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.?” - LEONARDO DA VINCI

It’s easy to think that glamour and sophistication are at odds with simplicity.

Only if you’re looking at a catalog or wandering through a mall.

Da Vinci got it right.

Whether in art, design or the day-to-day running of your life, simplicity is key to creating something beautiful that is easy to understand and experience.

It’s not about the tension between “less is more” and “more is more ”it’s about making choices that serve you.

When you consider the grand design of your life, what do you think is essential for your life to look and feel the way you want it to?Is it gold-plated plumbing fixtures?

Crystal goblets?

How do you decide what to add to your life and what to subtract from it?

Now, there are times when complications happen organically, you or someone you love gets sick, jobs are lost or offered, someone needs to move their home or workplace unexpectedly.

But usually our lives become complicated because we are grasping outside ourselves looking for something to “fix” our lives.We are seduced by something innovative, magical or supernatural that promises to rescue us, and transport us from where we are to where we want to be.

With few exceptions, those promises don’t deliver.

So once again, the quickest path to simplicity is to make simple choices.

Luckily, it’s easy to make simple choices.

Just ask yourself, is this going to complicate my life or simplify it?

And then sit still long enough to answer the question.

Don’t rush ahead because you don’t really want to examine the answer.

Don’t discount what you discover as you investigate.

Take it all in.

You may decide that even knowing something WILL complicate your life, that you still want to do it.

That’s ok, too.

You just don’t get to complain about it when it happens.

Eventually, if simplicity is really what you seek, you’ll become more and more willing to sit still.

And you’ll actually start to enjoy sitting still long enough to decide that instead of adding things to your life, most of the time, there’s something right now that could leave and its absence would not hurt you.

In fact, its absence could possibly set you free.

Are you tired of the story of “too much to do and not enough time?” Would you love to get an extra hour or more back into your week without any gimmicks AND for free? Check out this cheatsheet I put together for you—it’s my gift and a great way to jump start your decluttering.

Declutter Your Life Podcast by Andrew Mellen. Available on iTunes!