Simplifying Life and Leadership

Do you ever feel the need to simplify your life or your leadership?

We often have far more than is really necessary. This does not mean that we have to divest ourselves of all our possessions, interests or involvements. It does mean that we can probably make our lives a whole lot more uncomplicated and uncluttered than they are.

The more that there is, the more you have to attend to it and put energy into it. Those very same possessions, interests and involvements can become weights that slow us down from running the race of life with energy, focus and settled satisfaction.

Periodically through life and leadership, we need to reflect on questions like ...

Do I need as many ...

Do I need to be involved in ...

Do I need to ...

Do I need as much ...

Are there areas where I am not content? Why is that? Is it acceptable to me? What can I do about it?

For years I have periodically gone through a simplification process. Usually I consider it when I take some type of personal planning retreat. I do it because I want to work with excellence. I want my attention to be focused and my full energy available. I want to be at my best, both in life and in work.

Alice and I have simplified. We have carefully considered the involvements we could commit to. In some cases we have cut out all but those we felt necessary. Other times we felt certain new commitments could be added for a period of time.  We have also culled possessions, decided on vehicles and a number of other considerations around which we asked, "Are we simplifying or complicating our lives more? Are we creating more or less to worry and fuss over?

Simplifying is different for each one of us. But the end result is the same. It lets us move with greater agility and less attachments, better focus and fewer distractions.