Less Is More

“If you don’t prioritize your life, someone else will.” — Greg McKeown

I read the weekend edition of The Broad Place’s newsletter and was moved by Kate Pascoe Squires confessional tale of her roundabout introduction to meditation. The practice not only instilled a newfound confidence in her daily routine. It helped her to savour the things that make life so bloody special.

Squires generously shares some handy life tips that encouraged her to shift her perspective including a podcast recommendation. Giving it a listen on my Uber pool commute, it features an interview with Greg McKeown, the author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.

I love the way McKeown speaks about stripping back the calendar, advocating for each and every one us to root out the inefficiencies that fill our daily lives. Think about how much time we invest (waste, some might say) on our smartphones. It’s a one stop shop for everything work and play related.

In order to remain relevant, society dictates we continually invest time and energy into this technology, cultivating an incredibly unhealthy cycle that intensifies with every passing year. Learning to make time away from our personal devices goes a long way to reflecting on our inherent dependencies.

Ask yourself what’s missing from your weekly cycle that you want to change. Now ask what you’d be willing to give up in order to achieve it. Set yourself the promise of a reward for following through on your dormant dreams and watch the good vibrations come your way.