Are you feeling trapped by your life?
Yearning for Simplicity
Lately, I have been listening to people speak about their craving to experience a simpler life. I can't say I'm surprised by how often it comes up in conversations.
As the drumbeat of modern life becomes increasingly complex, stressful and faster by the second, it seems to trigger something inside of us to simplify.
We all go through periods of increased stress, depending on where we're at, but even then we can develop strategies for working with it in a skillful way that helps us handle it well.
I notice that underneath very complex lifestyles, there is often a need to keep busy, perhaps as an avoidance strategy.
It's often easier to bury ourselves in "busy" than to unravel painful or emotional feelings were not ready to tackle yet. It's a superb strategy, but only if you want to stay stuck and repeat the same stories over and over again, cleverly disguised as new stories. as the saying goes.
Complexity
Of course, there are individuals that thrive on complexity, but for the most part, it is showing up in our communities and our workplaces as a subtle but destructive tendency to live at breakneck speeds while juggling too many balls in the air, which often leaves us exhausted or depleted and unable to fully enjoy some of the simpler moments of life that make up a significant portion of the happiness equation.
Reflection, personal development and the joy of being alive without having to accomplish something in every moment are also part of being an accomplished person.
I'm fond of simple but powerful questions as a wonderful place to start. For example, answer these two questions.
My mission behind everything I do is_____________________.
I would be inspired to work or create in a way that_______________.
Even two simple answers like this can guide and inform everything you do, and help cut through the fog of complexity and into the blue sky of simplicity.
We dissipate so much time and energy in places that do not serve us, somehow convinced if it isn't complicated it won't work when we could accomplish so much more just by creating clarity.
Vague ideals remain passive, a focused clarity of mind awakens the power of your purpose
Clarify what kind of world you envision and how you see yourself in it.
What will you do?
Who will you be?
Why is this important to you?
Or one of your own simple questions...
You can't see what nourishes your problems and your solutions.
Roots
We don't see the roots of the tree, but they nourish the fruit that we eventually eat and enjoy.
Something to consider is to figure out how to address the root cause of problems or knots in your professional life, instead of adding more complexity, which often only delays the impact you’re trying to achieve.
When you strip away what doesn't serve you, you are figuring out which tools create your best results and which roots need to be pulled and which need to be saved.
We don't see the roots of the tree, but they nourish the fruit that we can see.
Excuses
There are some amazing filmmakers out there these days using only smartphones to tell stories. I know artists who do things with a pencil that blows my mind. iPads are amazing, but a pen and a single piece of white paper can create an idea that changes the world.
Just because you can write on a computer rather than a typewriter and it's faster and easier doesn't mean what you write is going to make you into a bestselling author. You still need something to say that matters.
We love to make excuses that we don't have the time or the money or the gear to be special, we don't have all the right ingredients to be a Steve Jobs, that there is a really complex solution to our problem and until we figure it out, we are stuck.
All those people you admire all those biographies you read, they all had to start somewhere, when they had nothing and nobody knew them. But the thing all great creators possess is purpose, vision and a spirit of creating with what they have now. Steve started out in his garage with a friend. It wasn't complicated, it was really very simple.
If the solution isn't simple and elegant, it's not a solution, it's just a problem in disguise.
Want More Simple?
Aside from refining your purpose and your vision, there is another technique which clears the clutter.
Meditation or the art of sitting quietly.
Nothing will help your develop simplicity and clarity more than some kind of sitting quietly practice. As you enter the silent spaces of your mind, you start to notice how often you cling to certain desires. Desires are endless, leading to more and more complexity in your life. You are always climbing another ladder. Meditation helps you untangle the knots in your life, so you can get to your most basic human desires - the ones underneath all the other ones.
1. To be emotionally well
2. To have what you need materially
3. To experience contentment and joy
4. To give and receive love
5. To have a life of purpose and meaning
As we begin to observe our minds in action, we discover things that keep coming up for us, and these are clues as to what our habitual patterns are. The outer story may look or feel different in these various scenarios, but underneath it, the pattern plays out again and again until we understand it and pull it out by the roots. This is called insight meditation.
When you begin to notice with greater ease what needs to be cleaned out of your mind and your cupboards, your story will gradually start to change.
What wonderful freedom and lightness starts to seep into your life as this process unfolds. Your meditation practice will change your life and your life will change your meditation practice. They go together, hand in glove.
As this unfolds, you will start to do much more with less, and even if you have to carry great responsibilities in your life and work, they will be lighter for you.
I’m happy to have a conversation with you to explore how my coaching can help you