Less is richer

One of the most ingrained thoughts in Western society is that more is better. A bigger house is better than a small house, two cars are better than one, more experience is better than a little experience... and of course, more money is better than a little.

I have been reflecting a lot on this topic lately and so many times find myself defaulting to more. Lisa and I just finished our second retreat and all went well, my immediate thought was “How can we do more retreats”. I got my first marketing consultancy client and the same happened without even thinking about it, “how can I get more clients”. I also got my first booking for my hiking guide services and again the same… more more and more.?

The truth is that I’m fine right now. The projects I’m working on are keeping me afloat financially and I’m enjoying having spare time to study Spanish, exercise (lightly), or just hang out with my friends and family. So why do I need more?

Of course, the answer is that I don’t need more. I’m trying to break free of the ingrained thinking I have to always try to optimise for more and rather put that energy into being present and thankful for what I now have. If more work comes my way, great. If it doesn’t, also great. I believe that the Spanish culture is also helping me with this. The Spaniards are good at doing enough to get by but not more. When they are done for the day, they stop to enjoy what is left of the day rather than filling it with more work. This is usually talked about in a negative manner either complaining about the ma?ana ma?ana mentality or the laziness of the Spaniards (and other southern Europeans), but I think they just know that more is not the answer. At least not when it comes to working. And after all, having time over for the things you want to do isn’t that true richness?

“When you have an itch you have two choices, you can itch it or you can ignore it, and what I have come to realise over time is that both options create the same result. The itch will go away”.?

I read a wonderful story about Napoleon (I didn’t know there were wonderful stories about him and I also don’t know if it is true) which said that he always waited 2 weeks before opening his mail. By doing this he knew that most of the problems that people depending on him wrote to him about would already be solved by the time he read about them. It was his way of empowering his generals to think and act for themselves and not to rely on Napoleon to solve their problems. I think we are stuck in a constant loop of opening our mail too soon and reacting to it. Or reacting to the latest piece of news or gossip where if we only wait it would go away. How often is it not that you read about how the stock markets are collapsing on a Monday only to make a full recovery by Thursday? You could have been glued to the financial news during the week and followed every single development and speculation or you could have tuned in on? Friday only to find that the market was exactly where it was when the week began. Having spent no time worrying or stressing about it would have made you better off.?

Next time you feel the itch to do something, pause for a moment and think that maybe by not itching it, it will also go away.?

During the last 6 months, I have worked less, done less hard exercise, been less goal-oriented, and eaten less and I feel stronger and richer than ever before. I’m constantly overcome with this feeling of how good life can be. So then I think about the future and how I can keep this going and I think the biggest threat to my currently great existence is me. Me, without thinking much about it, jumping into another big project, accepting another handful of clients, or something else that would take away all the time that I now have which is making me feel rich. And for what? More stuff? More in my savings account? More security?

I am blessed to feel that if I need to get a job that covers my bills, I can do that. It might not be my dream job but it would be something to keep a roof over my head and food in my belly. And the gives more security than any amount of money in a savings account can buy.?

If you now want to take a few steps on the “doing less” path then don’t jump directly to the thought of what you will do more of if you start doing less. Stay in the moment and for now just enjoy less.?