SIMPLIFY

Welcome to The Dish where Drew DeMaree & guests serve up a healthy dose of reality each week.  This blog is about keeping it real ~ real challenges, real distractions, real life getting in the way of, well…virtually everything.  How we view our realities depends on individual mindset, and we want to discuss WHY MINDSET MATTERS.

 

For those of us who grew up in the “olden days”, how many times have we been told “Keep it simple, Stupid”?  While not exactly the best phrasing, the concept itself is absolutely true.  So let’s discuss why and how we SIMPLIFY.

Have you ever wondered why we always feel as if we have so much to do?  For me, I make things way more complicated than they need to be.  You may be asking yourself why in the world I would do that. Well, because I LIKE IT THAT WAY!  I love challenges; I prefer to be in control. I thrive on the unpredictability of problem solving.  I crave that feeling of accomplishment that comes with not only reaching, but with crushing goals.  The honest truth is that I enjoy telling stories about how hard it was to meet our goals, and relay how I rode in like some knight in shining armor wielding the all- important solution like a sword. And if I’m unabashedly baring my soul, I must admit I love the HUSTLE! We have all heard of hustle culture in which we devote as much of our day as possible to working.  The more you work, the more celebrated you are, and that, my friends, is the allure of the hustle. Yet, when hustle culture and all that comes with it collides with our value system, collateral damage is inevitable.

So how do we stop that speeding train?  First, we recognize that every single thing in our lives takes up space, whether physical, mental or calendar.  Therefore, all we own, all we do and everyone we choose to spend time with costs us something.  When we say YES to one thing, we must say NO to another.  We must make a CHOICE.  Making choices consistent with what we value takes practice:

  1. We must consider our values and make choices that are in line with them.
  2. Slowing down to speed up is necessary. It’s like pulling back an arrow so that it can gain the momentum it needs to reach its target. Similarly, we need to take a step back to focus on where we want to go.
  3. Utilizing the talents of others is key. Surrounding ourselves with people who compliment us, bring new ideas to the table and take tasks off our plates is essential.
  4. Find your auditor – mine is my operations manager, Denise. I often come up with amazing ideas (which she calls my brain on coffee) LOL! Then she strips it down and creates an uncomplicated action plan filtering out what isn’t important to accomplishing the intended results.

Adding too much to our proverbial plates is not healthy.  If we choose to add something, then something else must be removed to make room.  For me, my plate is my schedule, specifically my color-coded calendar which includes both work and personal daily tasks.  They fit together like puzzle pieces, and when I erase, I replace while being conscious to leave open spaces providing necessary down time.

When seeking to uncomplicate our lives, it is important to let go of our egos and focus on what we value most; this must be our priority.  In my opinion, time is our most valuable asset, and we must use it wisely, spending time doing things we enjoy with people we care about. Steve Jobs summed up the mindset around simplicity when he said, “Simple can be harder than complex.  You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”  And that’s why MINDSET MATTERS.