LIFE, LOVE & TRUTH

We’ve all heard this definition by Einstein:

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again,
and expecting different results.

So, as another year ends, and a new decade begins, what should we expect? And how should we act if we expect different results?

What Next?
Seems like only yesterday, the 1990’s ended with the massive Y2K threat. I was in the telecommunications industry at the time. We worried incessantly about surviving possible computer crashes, power grid meltdowns, internet malfunctions and such. Yet, somehow, we made it through. Then 9/11/2001 presented a new, more real and much more deadly enemy that continues to thwart us. And more recently, we’ve been hit by the profound global economic downturn. It seems that the last decade has been defined by one prolonged crisis after another.

Now, as 2010 begins, it seems fitting to consider what we can do to improve the quality of our lives, no matter what happens on the world stage. I clearly can’t solve society’s crises. But I do think there’s a way to minimize the personal crises that tend to consume many Americans.

It’s all about one word – simplify.

Lessons From Mickey Mouse
I remember reading a children’s book about Mickey Mouse and his small boat. Mickey enjoyed fishing in the little boat with his dog, Pluto – but friends wanted to come along. So Mickey bought a bigger boat. More friends wanted to join, so Mickey replaced it with an even bigger boat. Eventually, Mickey’s boat had become a yacht, and Mickey was unhappy, because he missed fishing with his pal Pluto. By the end of the book, Mickey had sold the yacht, and was back to his original small boat – happy again.

We’re learning the hard way a lesson that Mickey has been teaching us all along. It’s time to stop the madness – not just in our lives, but in our minds and hearts. We need to know when we have enough.

Less Really Can be More
Why has our country run amok? Why do our lives seem out of control? Why do businesses invest in more technology, but struggle to squeeze-out more productivity? And at home, why do we buy more “convenience” foods and products, but still seem to have less leisure time? Why has caffeine become the latest recreational drug of choice?

Moreover, why does a drop in personal and collective income feel so painful to Americans? Why aren’t we content with what we have?

Put simply, we’ve been hoodwinked. We’ve been led to believe that more stuff equals more happiness. Even bumper stickers declare that “whoever dies with the most toys wins.”

So of course it hasn’t been pretty to accept the realities of a recession. Suddenly, many of us have been forced to live on a financial “diet.” Diets are painful by definition. But if our focus is to merely “stop spending,” we’re doomed to failure – as many dieters often are. It’s the lifestyle equivalent to living like a dry drunk.

We need to act differently. But perhaps we also need to expect something different.

Therefore, I challenge you to think of the word “simplify” as more than an act. Think of it as a gift, a blessing, a promise – a dream you can make true each day. By embracing the word “simplify” as a mantra, I believe it can reverse our fortunes in the next year – and beyond.

Nice theory, perhaps. But how do we get started?

Get the Good Stuff by Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
Our problems start right inside our own homes. Think about it. We don’t own the stuff inside. It owns us.

Consider the consequences of stuff. Everything we own must be put somewhere, so we pay for storage (a house, bigger house, a garage, a bigger garage, a unit at a storage facility). Everything we own must be maintained (oil changes for the car, dry cleaning for clothes, insurance for jewelry, paint for the house…more paint for a bigger house…you get the picture.)

Ironically, nothing we own will satisfy us for long. New cars get old, new clothes go out of style, new houses need repairs. In short, we pay dearly for every item we posses – first in hours spent researching and buying the things we think will make us happy, then in hours spent caring for those things – not to mention the hours spent earning funds to pay for it all.

Besides – if we’re honest, most of us must acknowledge that our spending habits are driven by a desire to “look good” or “feel better.” That means we aren’t really in control. But if buying stuff didn’t make us “look good” or “feel better” in the past, why should we expect that even more stuff will do the trick now? Don’t forget the definition of insanity…

Walking the Walk
I have some simplification goals for myself this year: I intend to give away anything I don’t need. Someone else may actually benefit from using something I wouldn’t touch. And as a by-product, I’ll benefit from reducing the clutter in my life.

Also, I’m going to avoid any desire to buy a bigger house. Instead, I’ll aspire to live in a smaller house – one that owns me less than my current home! What purpose does it serve if I’m a slave to my house?

What would happen if all of us did this? I don’t know – but it’d be interesting to find out.

Certainly, the demand for many luxury products would decrease. And if everyone bought less stuff overall, retailers and manufacturers would feel the impact. However, in time, business investment would shift toward other goals rather than ever-increasing consumption. Eventually, markets would stabilize at a different level. Perhaps work would no longer be the center of American lives. And perhaps more of us would spend time at home with family – focused on relationships rather than shopping and spending. Would that be such a bad thing?

Simple? Or Just Simple-Minded?
My little “keep it simple” scheme must pale in the shadow of large-scale threats such as terrorism, global warming, the recession – or other challenges that will no doubt emerge in future years.

Yes, I realize “cleaning house” won’t solve all of the world’s problems. But with all the collective challenges we face, the last one we need is a personal addiction to material goods.

Big change starts with doing what little we can, individually. I can’t tackle global warming or single-handedly defeat al Qaeda any more than I can fly solo to Mars. But I can take responsibility for reducing the stuff that complicates my life. By taking this first step, hopefully I’ll encourage others to follow. But even if they don’t, I will have redeemed time, money and psychic energy to invest in things that matter more.

By putting our stuff in its proper place, we put ourselves in control. We become the masters, not the slaves. We control our destiny by saying, “I have everything I need. I have ENOUGH!”

So I look forward to a New Year where I focus on loving people and using things – rather than other way around. And I wish the same for you. Let’s see what sort of change can come from a tiny revolution.

It’s time to clean house.

Happy New Year – and may you always be blessed with ENOUGH!

Jeff