Every Monday, I share 1 question for you to contemplate, 1 idea from me, 1 quote from others, and 1 inspiration for us.
This week’s topic is: Simple
Last week I found myself saying so many times: “I know I am overcomplicating this, but…”. It made me wonder why our brains love to make things complicated and how we can practice simplicity more often in our every day. In the complex world we live in, keeping it simple is not necessarily easy - to be simple has become the most complicated skill.
One Question for you
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
Discuss the question here.
One Idea from me
It’s hard to keep it simple. This week I am sharing a challenge, a concept and a practice on how to stop overcomplicating things.
The challenge: In the book “Essentialism” Greg McKeown uses a German expression “weniger aber besser” meaning “less but better”. This is a powerful and liberating idea that can enable us, if used with intention, to accomplish more with less, enjoy more with less and be more with less - because less is more and better. This week I encourage you to pick an area in your life to practice this principle. Some practical examples can include: writing more concisely, using less ingredients in your food or reducing the number of decisions you need to make in a day.
The concept: A great way to uncomplicate things is to use the 5 Whys (5Y) technique. The 5Y method was developed by Sakichi Toyoda, the founder of Toyota, in the 1930s and it is a simple, but powerful tool for cutting quickly through the noise of a situation or a problem and reveal its root cause. The method is super simple: when a problem occurs, you drill down to its root cause by asking “Why?” five consecutive times (quickly). Then, when a solution or counter-measure emerge, you can address the root cause and follow through it to prevent the issue from recurring. This week, I encourage you to try this out to peel away the layers of symptoms which can lead to the root cause of a problem.
The practice: This week I invite you to practice the KISS principle. KISS stands for “Keep it simple, stupid” or, as I don’t believe anyone should be called stupid, “Keep it simple (seriously)”. Regardless of how you spell it out, the message is powerfully simple and it can be applied to many areas of life. A great example of KISS application is the Google homepage which, over the years, has remained simple and intuitive, with all the main functions being at the center stage with easily interpreted icons for other priority features. This week I invite you to pick one aspect of your life you can simplify and think about ways on how you can make it as simple as the Google homepage.
One Quote from others
“Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is hard to keep things simple.” Richard Branson
One Inspiration for us
This week I am sharing a clip from the documentary “Pina”, a tribute to the late German choreographer Pina Bausch where her dancers perform her most famous creations. Pina’s choreographies are popular because they vacillate between extreme simplicity and extreme complexity. The dance below is titled the Lilies of the Valley and it’s my favourite (I also had the privilege to watch it live at the Edinburgh Festival in 2015). The Lily of the Valley is a symbol of purity and simplicity. Enjoy and if you are interested in the full documentary, it is available on Netflix.
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