Less is more

Picking up after my previous blog, I would like to talk more about the concept of less is more.

Our lives have become increasingly intricate and complex. Our lives are full of a lot of things: multiple goals, multiple activities, multiple roles, multiple jobs, multiple hats, multiple belongings, multiple problems and multiple headaches.

Often we cannot see the forest through the trees and we tend to get confused. It is so hard to keep your balance when you are juggling so many things. Wouldn’t it be great to declutter and refocus?

It is a tough call, a bit like a spring cleaning session: it seems a daunting task, you would rather push it forward to the next day, and the next and the next… besides, you wouldn’t know where to start! But at one stage you realise something needs to change and that the time has come to roll up your sleeves.

In order to make it easier, you can use the trick to break those mighty efforts down into tiny bits, making them less of a challenge and thus more approachable and achievable. You can start with an imaginative drawer or a virtual section of your wardrobe and each time you’ve finalised the pre-chosen bit, you reward yourself with a cup of tea, a refreshing walk, a phone conversation with your friend or just a (mental) tap on your shoulder!

I think we can all apply this same spring cleaning experience in our lives: often our multiple hats make us loose track of our real priorities and we can get so worked up about tiny issues that cross our paths! It happened to me so many times!

Try thinking about this mental picture: your life is represented by an onion; try to analyse your different hats (mother, daughter, friend, professional, student, artist, writer, taxi driver, wailing wall, motivator, …) and peel them off like you would with the different layers of the onion and try to imagine what you see in the core. It provides you with a visual sense of what matters most and might help you to keep your essence or core value(s) a focal point in your life.

The same is true for our belongings: how many of us have a wardrobe full of clothes we do not wear (anymore)? How many of us have a drawer with unusable clutter? How many of us buy things we never use? Tablecloths and table ware for special occasions, various ornaments, memorabilia you don’t remember what it is they should remind you of … the list is endless! When I moved from one house to another, I was painfully reminded of all the clutter we built up around us throughout the years. In our society we are encouraged to buy stuff: consumerism keeps our economy turning, but what if we would be more mindful about the things we buy? Maybe less, but more valuable? Less belongings means less clutter and less work during our spring clean…

What if I tell you more positive news about a less is more approach? Think about the environment, which is currently a major concern for most Governments around the globe. Mindful and therefore decreased consumerism would also have a positive impact on the environment too, as less demand would mean less production and less production would imply less pollution and less clutter, and less clutter, would mean less waste.

No doubt about it, the concept of less is more would have a might positive effect on our mental health situation in my humble opinion. Refocusing, setting priorities straight, decluttering and breaking things down to simpler concepts, make a clear mind. A clear mind means less space for unnecessary complications and confusion, less fertile ground for nasty mind games, anxiety and stress. In my view it would create a more open approach to life, a better acceptance of ourselves and more mind space to allow self-acceptance, self development and self reflection.

Therefore for me today’s mantra is: less is more 🙂

May 10, 2021