What is Simplicity?

After wanting an iPhone for months, I purchased one last weekend both as a reward for some goals achieved and to help me in my quest to become more organized.

Is owning an iPhone incompatible with simplicity? Purchasing an iPhone led me to thinking about my philosophy of what simplicity is and is not. Here are my thoughts:

Simplicity is not anti-technology. If you’re someone who is not comfortable with the technology, simplicity for you may mean using pen and paper instead of technology whenever possible. Currently I own a 12-year-old TV that sits on a stand in my living room. It’s not large or flat or HDTV-capable, but it suits me just fine. In fact, the thought of going out and purchasing a flat-screen TV not only doesn’t appeal to me, but also makes me think of the hassle of setting the new unit up, finding an organization to donate my old TV to, and the weight in my mind of purchasing an expensive TV when I’m perfectly satisfied with the old one. So for me, right now a new TV would be incompatible with simplicity.

Simplicity is not frugality. However, if you’re living simply, then you won’t have the clutter of a bunch of things that you’re not using. Clutter, whether physical or mental, is the antithesis of simplicity. Therefore, by allowing into your life only what you will use and enjoy, simplicity often leads to money savings.

As an illustration of this concept, I once joined a coupon club that told its members what coupons to clip, which stores to go to, and how many bottles or cans of what item to purchase every week. After a few weeks of this, I found myself feeling very stressed. Sure, I was saving money, but I was spending too much energy on the couponing. If I had been enjoying the process, then that would have been different. For me, coupon clipping is not compatible with simplicity.

Simplicity is awareness. My body is my litmus test for whether something is going to add simplicity or complexity to my life. When I think of replacing my year 2000 car, I think of the haggling over price, the stress of monthly payments, and how I would feel about discarding a car that still has use. My body feels tense at the mere contemplation of that entire process, and I know that it would add complexity to my life that I do not want or need.

Everyone, therefore, has to define for theirself what simplicity is. For one person it may be living in a loft in the city, and for another it might be living in the country growing their own vegetables.

In a nutshell, if it feels like a hassle or draining to your energy, then it’s probably not simple. If you use enjoy using it regularly and feel that your time and energy using and maintaining it isn’t wasted, then it is likely simple.

Let me hear your thoughts in the comments—have you ever purchased something and found later that it was more trouble than it was worth? How do you define simplicity?

Photo courtesy of mckaysavage.

___

If you enjoyed this article, please share it on Digg, Del.icio.us, or StumbleUpon. Thank you!