A Simpler Life - Inspiration As The Cure for Over-Complexity

Recently I stayed in a house where the owner was a keen collector of clocks. There were two impressive grandfather clocks, several pendulum wall clocks and a number of mantle clocks. Most of them chimed every hour.

However, they did not all show the same time. The first to strike the hour was long before the last. The irony seemed to be that the more clocks there are, the less sure you can be of the time!

This is an analogy for the complexity of life: we can get many contra-indications as to the path we're really on and route ahead. In the confusion we have no clear sense of direction.

If you were in dense jungle (and perhaps it feels like it sometimes!), it would be helpful to climb a tall tree to get a clear view of the way ahead. Or maybe you would scale the slopes of a hillside to get above the tree line. Either way, a strategic view is essential to reach your objective.

Inspiration is the mountain top from where you can see what really matters. Then you can simplify on that basis, throwing out what you no longer need and prioritizing what remains. Most especially, being inspired can put you in touch with a real sense of purpose.

A strong sense of purpose will naturally simplify life. It becomes the gold-standard for our decision making. We can choose what to think and what to do depending on whether it contributes to our purpose or not.

Getting practical, how do you become inspired?

There are many techniques you can use: here are two simple yet powerful steps that work for most people:

1. Book yourself a date with inspiration - set aside some time. Even ten minutes will be a good start

2. Think back to a time when you were really inspired (it doesn't matter whether it was recent or some while ago). Get into the memory and, in your mind's eye, see what you saw then. Listen again the sounds that you heard then and re-experience the feelings from that time

To discover your true purpose, when you are inspired notice what is really essential in your life. What elements of your life are non-negotiable? (You may like to jot these down - eg. goals, relationships, ambitions, values, ethics, causes, challenges, talents, life-work). Your true purpose will be connected in some way with these essential factors.

Continuing in the quest for simplicity, now ask yourself:

- How closely is my life aligned to my true purpose?

- How much am I high-jacked by unnecessary complexity?

- What steps can I take to increase simplicity?

In the jungle, these are questions you can ask at the top of the tall tree; you can revisit them on a regular basis to check your navigation - to see whether you are 'on-purpose'.

As you progress towards greater simplicity, you will find that all your clocks begin to tell the same time!