Simplicity: Well-Defined

In a Warren Buffett video, Mr. Buffett defined simplicity as the ultimate sophistication. I couldn’t agree more. I often say that life is simple; we humans make it complex.

Years ago, I wrote an article, Education and Complexity. In this article, I stated that the more formal education we get, the more likely we are to look for complex solutions. My rationale for this statement is that complex solutions highlight the fact that we are highly-educated.

The example I used in the article came from a Harvard Business Review article in which a group NASA metallurgists were trying to find a new composite that would reduce the launch payload by 800 pounds. A technician standing nearby, upon overhearing the conversation, said: “Why don’t we stop painting the tanks? They end up at the bottom of the ocean anyway.”

Simplicity: The Ultimate Sophistication

I’m no more exempt from this malady than any of you. I have, however, trained my mind to explore the possibility that a simpler solution exists (and there always is one) and employ that simpler solution.

Examples

We react emotionally to what we’re facing (often compounding the problem) when a simple pause allows the emotion to wane and a broader array of simple solutions surface.

Many, if not most, of the decisions we make on a daily basis are made subconsciously, based on emotion, without realizing that we’re making a decision. We simplify life when we take a few seconds to make conscious rather than subconscious decisions.

When we’re angry at someone for something they said or did, we fail to realize that they’re hurting and, more often than not, deflecting their pain onto us. The simple, sophisticated solution is to realize that they’re hurting, make them aware that you realize they’re hurting and ask what you can do to help.

In moments of frustration, we fail to realize that we’ve set unreasonable expectations for ourselves. That’s why, when we decide to take a break from what is frustrating us, solutions appear instantly. Armed with this knowledge, we set more reasonable expectations, which simplifies our lives.

We bemoan the mistakes we make, at times belittling ourselves for being stupid, when we learn more from our mistakes than from the things that go well. Simplicity is retraining our minds to appreciate our mistakes as a natural part of the learning curve.

Judging things, and people, as being good or bad, right or wrong, results in ill-informed decisions on our part. Understanding that nothing is all good or all bad, all right or all wrong, and dealing with the situation, or person, with this mindset simplifies our lives.

These are a few examples of how we humans overly complicate life. We tend to view the problems we face as being complex when in reality they aren’t; nor are their solutions.

The key is to retrain our minds to seek simplicity.

Takeaways

You can retrain your mind to seek simplicity using this two-step process. In the morning, shortly after rising, remind yourself that you’re going to seek simple solutions for whatever situations you face.

Then, shortly before going to bed, review your day twice. The first review is to remind yourself of the successes you had in finding simple solutions. Realizing that you’ve been successful makes it easier to deal with the mistakes you made during the day.

The second review is to identify the instances in which you didn’t find simplicity. The questions you want to ask are:

• What did I learn from this experience?
• What will I do differently in the future in situations like this?

You’ll find that, within a week, your mind is automatically seeking simplicity where previously it had sought complexity. You’ll realize how much easier your life has become because you’ve embraced the concept that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

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