LISTENING FROM THE HEART
Originally published in The Mancos Times – April 11, 2012
In my listening to others, to myself as well, I often hear how life has gotten “complicated,” “cluttered” and “busy.” I hear how we have become inundated with all that “stuff” around us as, seeing our closets, yards and garages overflowing, feeling our minds overflowing with all that we “need” to do, “want” to do, anxious and frustrated that we don’t have enough time, energy, or money to do it all. Having too many “to do’s” and so many possessions, that they seem to own us with their demands for maintenance and attention. Our cup does indeed runneth over, and yet we still acquire and commit to ever more! Does not this state of overload with possessions, commitments and expenditures promote an atmosphere of uneasiness and dissonance around us and within us?
One of my favorite quotes is “if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough” – Albert Einstein. As I have reminded my daughters, perhaps too many times, one must work hard to master a subject or talent and finally understand the simplicity about it, WORKING HARD TO MAKE IT SIMPLE. Often, I have heard the term K.I.S.S. “Keep It Simple Stupid” in business and have come to believe that this phrase is very much off target. Ideas, concepts and lives do start out simple, yes, but they nearly always must have some essential refinements and additions to make them truly effective. So it starts simple but usually incomplete. Unfortunately as we refine and add to it, much unnecessary complexity is added as well, much like earmarks added to federal legislative bills. As a result, often life and processes become difficult to sustain at this level. All those obligations and maintenance of possessions such as autos, boats, gardens, yards, relationships, work, social commitments, etc. become a saturated whirlwind, perhaps even a tempest about us. We begin to lose sight of key life values such as taking care of our physical and mental well-being, nurturing important relationships or fortifying our self-esteem by being our word with others, being our word with ourselves as well, or living financially in the “black.”
I have found that there does come a time to stand back, reassess, and develop a stream-lined strategy for our lives. A time does arrive to herald us to distill our lives into the essentials and basics, re-engineer our lives, so to speak in an intentional manner, focused on the critical few. I must admit that it does take a certain level of maturity and life experience, however, to achieve clarity with what the really valuable things that matter are without setbacks, successes and life experience. It is difficult to have clarity and confidence about what it is we truly need to feel fulfilled, such as our health, an attitude of gratitude, empathy in our relationships and streamlined spending, to name a few. Frankly it does not take much money or many possessions to have a true sense of serenity, joy, harmony and contribution when we do get honest about our lives and what truly matters.
So I have coined the phrase M.I.S.S. – Make It Streamlined & Simple. Is it time for you to stand back and re-engineer your life and discover and commit to the essential elements for yourself, time to be the Master of your ship and navigate a new course ahead, time to shed some possessions, some commitments, perhaps even some relationships as well? Is it time for you to M.I.S.S. your life, to get your life?
Michael Starr is the owner of Executive Coaching Services. He can be reached at www.executivecoachingservices.net or by calling 501-585-1302