Insight Bites Week 4 | 12/9/23

IN THIS ISSUE 

8 min read

• 🏫 A brief introduction to Essentialism

• 💡 The 4th, 5th, and 6th Idea (the rest were in a previous issue)

• 🔑 Key points to take home

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION

There is a type of philosophy called essentialism, and it was popularized in a book published a couple of years ago by a guy named Greg McKeown, called "Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less".

Its main points are aimed at improving your focus and guiding you towards larger and more important things in life. Essentialism adopters make incredible progress towards their goals because their focus is no longer diluted across hundreds of inconsequential activities. If you focus down on the few things that actually matter, it will get you very far in the game of life.

In fact, there is a quote from a famous Roman emperor that I'd like to share with you. He said, "Do less, but do it better." Now, this may seem like a simple quote, but it captures the essence of essentialism. It's about changing the concept of working hard and replacing it with working more efficiently.

MORE CONCEPTS FROM ESSENTIALISM

Here’s the fourth important idea from essentialism that really makes a difference: Make a single choice now that will make lots of future choices easier. Have you ever wondered why Steve Jobs always wore a black shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers in pictures? It's because he knew it wasn't worth thinking about what to wear every morning. So, he decided on one outfit, which made it easy for him to get up, put on his usual clothes, and focus on the important stuff. That one choice made many future decisions much simpler.

We can use this idea in different parts of our lives to save our brainpower. For instance, if you want to eat healthier, you can make a shopping list with only healthy foods. Later, when you look in your pantry, you won't see tempting snacks like cookies because you only bought the healthy stuff. This one choice, what you buy at the store, makes a lot of choices during the week easier.

The main goal is to find these one-time choices that make lots of future choices less complicated. Here's another good one: Decide now to get rid of your TV and streaming services, and maybe replace them with reading a book, learning something new, or spending time with your family. Just like that, you won't have to figure out what to watch every night after dinner. You can grab a book, play some music, and learn something new. This switch lets you replace unhelpful habits with better ones, much easier.

Pearl on the String

And that leads us to the fifth idea from essentialism that is completely life-changing. And this might just be my personal favorite: the goal is simply to become the person who shows up and puts another pearl on the string.

What does that mean? Well, “Putting a pearl on the string” is another mental model, that aims to help you make progress in the things that matter.

See, whenever you're pursuing a difficult goal which requires you to execute certain difficult, essential activities, you're likely to experience this internal resistance, this voice inside that tells you you're not good enough. This internal critic is born from your self-identity, that is, the beliefs you have about who you are and what you're capable of. For me, I spent most of my life struggling against the identity that I had for myself that said I'm lazy, I'm unfocused, I'm undisciplined. You can see how this identity isn't going to help move you forward towards your goals, right? In fact, for most people, because they are their own harshest critic, that identity they have of themselves stops them from ever even taking the first step.

Well, to overcome this, I want to introduce you to the idea of the String of Pearls. Now, in this framework, imagine a String of Pearls. Each Pearl on the string represents an action towards your goal. And just like with all strings of pearls, no one Pearl is the centerpiece. No one Pearl is more important than the others. See, every action, every Pearl, has the same value, despite the fact that some might be prettier than others.

So, the most essential thing that we each have to do every single day is to simply show up and put another Pearl on the string. And remember, it doesn't have to be a Pearl. It can be the ugliest thing in the world because one Pearl is better than no Pearl.

Trade Offs

The 6th and final idea of essentialism that truly helped me is to accept the reality of trade-offs.

We can’t do it all. When we try to straddle the fence and devote energy to two pursuits at the same time, we don’t give our best to either of them. The essentialist, on the other hand, aims for quality over quantity, with a willingness to give up many lesser opportunities in favor of the single best opportunity.
As individuals, we have limited time, energy, and attention available to us each day. These resources are not infinite, so we must make conscious decisions about how to allocate them effectively. Embracing trade-offs can lead to reduced stress and overwhelming feelings. When we try to do it all, we often find ourselves stretched thin and feeling overwhelmed. By making conscious choices about where to direct our efforts, we can lead more balanced and fulfilling lives.

Overall, this concept of reminds us that we can't have everything all at once. By making deliberate choices, focusing on quality, and prioritizing the single best opportunities, we can achieve greater success and satisfaction in our endeavors while reducing the stress and overwhelm that often come with trying to do too much.

4 THINGS TO REMEMBER

• Accept the reality of trade-offs.

• Become the person who shows up and puts another pearl on the string.

• Make choices now that will make lots of future choices easier.

• We have limited time, energy, and attention available to us each day. We must make conscious decisions about how to allocate them effectively.

Thoughts on today’s issue?