Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci
I have a way of complicating things. I'm really good at it. It all starts in my head and translates into action (or more often, inaction) and that sort of gets the complication ball rolling.
An example: I like coffee, especially on a Sunday morning. But I can only handle about one cup before a gross and disgusting feeling starts to form in the pit of my stomach. So this morning I put the coffee pot on as usual, and 3 cups later I have a full blown battle surging in my head ("Uh oh, starting to feel gross". "No, keep drinking! This is what you enjoy on a Sunday morning dammit! It relaxes you!". "Ohhh...gotta stop drinking coffee and start drinking water...you're supposed to be drinking lots of water!". "Just drink the coffee!".
Upon reflection, I can clearly see that this is utterly ridiculous. What would have made far more sense would have been to savour the first cup of coffee, unplug the coffee machine, and switch over to water, thus avoiding the tornado-like swirling of thoughts in my head, as well as the inevitable ickiness that surely would have set in after more than one cup.
I am particularly bad at waging war with myself when it comes to work projects as well. A very astute university professor of mine once used the term 'paralysis by analysis' during a lecture and that phrase has always stuck with me. I am a prime example of someone who puts this into practice (or, you know, thinks about putting it into practice).
Then there are the distractions. Junk email. TV. Google. Updating my Facebook status. Keeping track of PIN numbers. Worrying what other people are thinking. I think all of these can be managed (except for the last one, which should be banished altogether). I just need to implement some systems to streamline them. I need to review my values to see what should be eliminated. I need to curb the verbal banter that runs through my head.
As you may have noticed, I haven't blogged in about a month. I simply got overwhelmed trying to balance everything that exists in my life. I forgot what was important. I made things more complex than they needed to be.
So that's my experiment this week: Keeping it simple. Going to bed at a decent hour. Turning off the TV. Managing my email. Thinking about what matters. Getting rid of what doesn't matter.
Simplicity = Happiness. That will be my mantra this week.
