Is less indeed more?
WALKING ALONG BUDONI BEACH ON A LATE AFTERNOON IN FALL IN SARDINIA, 2022
Do we Win by Losing?
It started to dawn on me while ambitiously trying to cram as much life as possible into a day that the only way to have more time is to do less.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, the mindfulness and stress-reduction pioneer, pointedly states in "Full Catastrophe Living" that voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day rather than more, seeing less so we can see more, doing less so we can do more, and acquiring less so we can have more overall
This sums up the famous saying "quality over quantity," as in going deeper - into an experience, our feelings, or who we are relating with - instead of "spreading ourselves thin" by superficially covering a lot of surface fleetingly
Ironically, friends frequently declare a vacation as relaxing, due to simplicity of a lifestyle upon returning to a life of non-stop busyness and consumerism. This makes me wonder if we can take more from these discoveries than the mere interruption of our otherwise overloaded everyday life.
By doing less with clearer attention, we lighten the load and experience things with more focus. We choose to be less available, not picking up the phone every time it rings. We don't frantically network with everyone we meet, allowing us to give undivided attention when we do connect
By doing less, we choose what we want to spend our time on, deliberately saying no to many things so we can say yes to what matters most.
Henry David Thoreau, the essayist and philosopher who lived a life of voluntary simplicity at Walden Pond for two years, ponders on limited time and energy:
“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things which he can afford to let alone.”
He points out the simple but urgently important equation of the cost of a thing being the amount of what he calls life, required to be exchanged for it, immediately or in the long run.
The Cost of Living
The time and energy we have is ours to spend as long as we are here, and how we spend it is our true "cost of living" - not knowing how much time or energy we have makes it all the more precious.
We often combat an underlying worry of "not having enough time" by overcrowding our lives with exponential input. Yet, no amount of working, exercising, shopping, gambling, binge eating, compulsive sexual roving, binge-watching TV, alcohol, opiates, or partying will free us from the resulting anxiety we try to bury under these distracting activities. In fact, these behaviors often only tighten the grip of anxiety.
During my fast-paced life in New York, burning the candle at both ends, I ran and rollerbladed countless kilometers along the Hudson River, desperately trying to shake off the restless anxiety as I was haunted by over-scheduled days.
The non-stop action strategy works—until it doesn't. And when we reach that breaking point, we're forced to explore the layers we've been afraid to peel back, to examine what lies beneath all this frantic activity. Encouragingly and surprisingly though, we might discover unexpected treasures lurking in the quiet spaces we've been avoiding.
What We Gain by Doing Less
The French writer Sylvain Tesson lived in a cabin in Siberia for six months, journaling his experiences in "Consolations of the Forest". During this time, he embraced solitude and nature, reflecting on his thoughts and struggles while living off the land near Lake Baikal1. Tesson observed that for anyone who steps out of the societal rhythm, they ultimately might discover that "limitations bring joy."
Questioning the number of things and experiences we have in life can seriously clear the view. As Cal Newport points out in "Digital Minimalism", adopting too many non-essential digital activities and tools can outweigh the minor benefits they individually offer. He pointedly states:
“The cumulative cost of the non-crucial things we clutter our lives with is often much heavier than the small benefits each piece promises."
In our increasingly digital world, editing the incoming data that bombards our senses can be challenging. It takes effort to block out the limitless options presented by algorithms that target us with precision. Nevertheless, it turns out:
It’s worth the effort to strive for less, as non-stop input eventually dulls our senses.
It's comparable to the way too much fast food lulls us into a state of passiveness, killing the engine to be creative when we are hastily over-fed with questionable nourishment.
The Benefit of Clear Communication
When communicating, the margin for error seems smaller, proportional to keeping it simple. Saying less sometimes conveys more than putting words to it, while saying nothing at all sometimes has the strongest impact.
I love the smart and simple packaging of the Japanese triangle-shaped onigiri rice snack that can be bought in many kiosks throughout its home country. It impresses with a minimum of packaging material that's integrated into the process of opening, holding, and eating it.
In general, the simple approach is often the most efficient solution while being the most comprehensible, as we creatively live, work, and design.
The margin for unflattering results regarding an outfit seems to be smaller to the degree we manage to keep the variety of items down. We win by avoiding the route of the clothes wearing us, rather than us wearing our clothes. And, it's inspiringly attractive when a person effortlessly wears the simplest outfit with an air of confidence, regardless of its actual price.
A Deliberate Choice Voluntary Simplicity
It's an interesting experiment to detox mentally, practically, and physically. Not seeing every place or exhibit, not knowing about every trend while not joining every meeting or party.
Experimenting with less is about skipping the gym, hairdresser, dry cleaner, take-out, nail salon, magazine subscriptions, streaming services, apps, and countless conveniences we think we need while overlooking that we would help ourselves more by toning down the overall quantity.
Voluntary Simplicity is about choosing deliberately and mindfully how much we consume overall. It's about gauging how much we need to eat and challenging the input on our senses, catching the moment when the reward of the intake tilts towards draining us of energy by over-intake.
Voluntary simplicity is about discerning between habitual actions and those that bring us genuine joy.
It's about continuously questioning what we want to experience versus what we might just be doing because most people are doing it.
As the time we have in a day and life is limited, the only way to have more capacity for what counts is to focus on less.
Steve Jobs reminds us that being innovative is about carefully choosing which opportunities to pursue by filtering out distractions. He points out that many of us confuse focus with being immersed in whatever we do, while it actually is about choosing what little we focus on. He poignantly stated that focus means saying no to the hundred "other" good ideas that there are. Convincingly claiming:
“Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things."
Admittedly, doing less usually comes with the challenge of going against the motion of the crowd. However, it comes with the gift of living with more meaningful exchanges and deeper awareness as we fine-tune our antennas for what aligns with our inner north.
Exceptions to the Rule
And most beautifully, by taking in fewer experiences and encounters with less haste, we cultivate enjoying them more.
Yet, like every rule, there is an exception we can't ignore:
There are sacred domains where abundance is not just welcome, but essential - love, creativity, and kindness. Here, the principle inverts: more will be profoundly more.
These are the realms where generosity knows no limit, love is a self-expanding state of being, and our capacity for compassion, artistic expression, and genuine connection can expand infinitely without depletion.
In these spheres, we don't subtract, we amplify - creating a beautiful counterpoint to our practice of doing less in other areas of life.
Have you asked yourself:
Do you often feel like you don't have enough time in your day?
Do you feel overwhelmed by the constant noise and distractions around you?
Are you haunted by a never-ending to-do list?
What is one thing you could let go of right now to lighten your load?
How might your life change if you embraced "less" in some areas and "more" in others?