Pursuing Less Can Lead Us to More

Pursuing Less Can Lead Us to More
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"The less I needed, the better I felt." -- Charles Bukowski

The pursuit of more is not working -- it's a broken model.

The ad men sell us more is the answer, but it's a snake oil pitch.

Are more possessions beyond a certain point really adding value to our lives?

Are more commitments in our diaries really helping us feel less rushed and stressed?

More is not working, it's not the answer we seek.

The Problem With More

The problem with chasing more is that it's a game with no end. There's always something else to add.

Chasing more leads us to deferred living. Never feeling like we have enough. Never feeling what we have is good enough. There's always more we could have or feel we should have.

Is this really how we want to spend our lives? Wishing for a day that will never come. Chasing a more that will never be enough.

Pursuing and Right Sizing Less

If more is not working then maybe what we should be chasing is less. Not less for the sake of less but the right sort of less.

Beyond our most basic needs of food, water, shelter, health, family and friends, how much more do we really need to be happy?

There are plenty of other things that can add value to our lives. Books, music, a creative outlet and so on. However, none of these need to turn into large houses full of stuff we rarely use. None of these need to turn into large debt that we never escape.

We can decide to pack lightly for life's journey instead. Just enough of our most valued possessions can outweigh an abundance of stuff we collect but never really get much value from.

Having one TV in a home can be enough, rather than one in each room.

Having a closet with 20 items in that we constantly wear and use, rather than hundreds of items that take up space but rarely see the light of day.

Less Gives Us More Back

The right sort of less in our lives can actually give us more back.

More savings.

More quality time for friends and family.

More focus.

More choices.

More living.

This is the right sort of more we want in our lives, not just more stuff.

The Power of Enough

There's a good chance that the more is better mantra has already failed you. If that's the case, perhaps it's time to look at other options. Time to open up to the possibilities of less.

Pursuing the right sort of less leads to enough and enough is all we really need.

Carl is the proud owner of Frictionless Living which is focused on helping readers live a simpler and more personally satisfying life. He is also the author of several books including 22 Ways to Simpler Living, 22 Ways to Happier and Frictionless Email. To read more and/or contact him go to his site.

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