essentialism

To become an Essentialist requires a heightened awareness of our ability to choose. We need to recognise it as an invincible power within us, existing separate and distinct from any other thing, person, or force.

Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do.”

How many times have you started your workday with a schedule and by 10 a.m. you were already completely off track or behind? Or how many times have you written a “to do” list in the morning but then found that by 5 p.m. the list was even longer?

To understand what an essential intent is, we may be best served by first establishing what it is not.

One important insight into how and why we forget our ability to choose comes out of the classic work of Martin Seligman and Steve Maier, who stumbled onto what they later called “learned helplessness” while conducting experiments on German shepherds.

His observation was that you could massively improve the quality of a product by resolving a tiny fraction of the problems.

Is there a point at which doing more does not produce more? Is there a point at which doing less (but thinking more) will actually produce better outcomes?

The Essentialist doesn’t just recognise the power of choice, he celebrates it. The Essentialist knows that when we surrender our right to choose, we give others not just the power but also the explicit permission to choose for us.