Simplicity

Ocham’s razor states that “In the absence of a clear solution, the most obvious solution is likely the best solution”.  And yet each and every day we unnecessarily complicate our lives by spending countless hours trying to come up with elaborate solutions to the challenges we face.

Johnny’s doing poorly in school.  So we hire tutors, bribe him with gifts, call in the counselor and so on.  How about if we take away Johnny’s iPhone and let him know that he won’t be participating in travel soccer anymore?  Instead, he’ll be at the kitchen table reading and studying from the time he comes home until the time he goes to bed?

You can’t lose any weight.  So you go on line and search for the latest diet, join a gym, hire a trainer and so on.  How about if we make a menu on Sunday evening of EXACTLY what we are going to eat each day?  We also block off one hour each day where we are going to spend the time walking.  What do you want to bet that we’ll see incredible results in one week?

Now I’m not suggesting that simplicity is easy.  To the contrary, it’s often the most difficult thing to do.  That’s because it forces us to realize that we hold the solutions to our problems and that we are the only thing standing in the way of learning, growing, and living better.

With that in mind:

What’s the simple solution to the biggest problem you are facing today?

As always, thanks for the time.