Simplicity and Life's Essentials
“ The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.” Hans Hoffman painter.
I love this quote as well as Hans Hoffman’s work. As a young artist, I was privileged to see his work often. My father was the accountant for the gallery in NY that represented his estate. I was calmed by the simplicity of his work and the colors that he used. However, this has nothing to do with what the quote speaks to:). So let’s get back to that. :)
You could also look at this as an Essentialist would, as the ability to simplify means to eliminate the Nonessential so the Essential may appear.
I have been thinking about what is essential in our lives, how we establish them in all areas, including our business, jobs, relationships, and so on. To keep things as simple as possible I have broken it down to 3 Essentials. Functions, Goals, and Priorities.
How we get to those Essentials is the question that we need to answer every day. This is not something that we ask once and are done. Each day we need to ask ourselves the question, is what I am doing Essential or Nonessential. Greg McKeown wrote a book titled “Essentialism” that speaks to that in more detail.
One of the questions that he asks is, “Is this the most important or valuable thing that I can be doing right now?” If it is then you are doing what’s essential.
It seems like a pretty efficient way to run your life. Then what happens to the spontaneity in life. Some could say that it is too structured and everything that we do doesn’t have to be Essential. Why can’t being spontaneous be an Essential Function? Let’s not constrain ourselves by our thinking.
Spontaneity might not be an Essential function at your job though it might be in your relationship. So let’s try and open up the space for what is Essential in our lives and see where that takes us.
