"Less is more" is an adage as old as time. It's something that's often repeated, and it's by no means something I invented. However, I believe I can bring a new perspective to this saying.
When people say "less is more," they usually mean that simple solutions are often more efficient than complex ones. The goal is to drive a mindset shift that prioritizes quick results and constant progress rather than overcomplicated approaches that take too long to produce any tangible result.
That's a valid approach and one I approve of, but I want to bring a new light to "less is more".
Everyone has dreams of what they want to achieve and although some people are better at materializing those dreams in tangible goals and realistic plans to achieve them, we all want to be bigger, stronger and drive faster cars (bonus points if you get the reference).
The most common approach to achieve those goals is to take action towards them. Again, some people are better than others at creating plans that can actually increase their chances of succeeding (i.e achieving their goals) but most people understand the notion that they need to take action to move from point A to point B and they know roughly what they need to do to get there.
That approach focuses on action, on adding things to our to-do list, and it's not unheard of. In fact, people do it all the time with their New Year's resolutions and whatnot.
But I want to propose a new point of view. One that is not centred on what to do but rather on what not to do, which can be much harder.
When making plans, we are so worried about the things we need to do that we seldom consider the things we should not do.
That idea can be translated into one question: "What are the things you should stop doing to make room for the things that will actually lead us to our goals and dreams?"
Don't be fooled by the apparent simplicity of this question. It's much deeper than it seems.
Adding new tasks, habits, or routines to our lives is far easier than letting go of them, mainly because if you fail to adopt those new activities sustainably, the biggest consequence is that you are back to the "status quo" of your life.
On the other hand, dropping things that are already etched in our very personalities is much harder because it often implies major changes in our lives.
In other words, the cost of adding new things is much lower when compared to the cost of dropping old habits, but in many cases, that is exactly what we need.
Sometimes all you need is to do less to achieve more.
