Value-Simplicity

When your priorities are clear, every 'no' becomes a step toward what matters.

Poet Sylvia Plath on the courage to close doors:

“I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn’t make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go... See more

Writer and scholar C.S. Lewis reminds us that what looks best is when we stop worrying about looking good and start focusing on doing our best:

“The sword glitters not because the swordsman set out to make it glitter but because he is fighting for his life and therefore moving it very quickly.”

Source: ​ Surprised by Joy

“The secret to winning is learning how to lose. That is, learning to bounce back from failure and disappointment—undeterred—and continuing to steadily march toward your potential. Your response to failure determines your capacity for success.”

The simple life hack is to lower your expectations, regardless of what you’re entitled to. Create the conditions for the outcome you seek, but leave yourself room if it doesn’t arrive.

Lowering expectations is a way to ensure that tomorrow is even better than you hope it will be.

An old Latin proverb, “Initium est dimidium facti”, reminds us of the timeless importance of simply beginning the task at hand:

“Once you’ve started, you’re halfway there.”

Source: Horace, the Roman poet, in his work Epistles ​ ​ ​

Your capacity for excellence is inversely proportional to the number of your commitments.

1 Question For You

Your environment whispers suggestions all day long—eat this, click that, sit here. Look around you right now. What small change could you make to your surroundings that would steer you toward good habits and away from distractions?