To achieve greater simplicity in your own life, notice the subtle line between becoming a master and being a novice, and read the trail beyond the readily apparent.

Mastery begins with the basic notion that you’re the captain of your fate. You’re in control. You steer the rudder, pull the lever, flip the switch, call the shots, and have the ability to follow the path that leads to simplicity.

When you master the elements of simplicity, you don’t repeatedly traverse the same undesired trails. You can become like the Bushmen of Namibia who are so adept at reading footprints that they can tell what a leopard did the day before they started following it.

Perspectives and Perceptions

As you read the following tips on simplicity, keep in mind the perspectives for our increasingly complex world:

Realize the reality of our era. Merely being born in the last 80 years guarantees that you will face a never-ending stream of complexity within your home, on the highway, at work, and everywhere in between. Acknowledging this basic reality is vital to resolution. Sadly, some people won’t attain this level of understanding and blame others, or themselves, for their complex lives. Complexity is no one’s “fault.”

Convert the question. When facing a challenge, employ language that empowers you rather than leaves you in a quandary. Rather than ask, “what can I do?”, ask yourself “what will I do?” Then jot down the answers. You can convert even the generic question, “What can I do about this issue?” into a more powerful inquiry “How will I handle this issue?”

Seek your answer within the problem. Charles Kettering’s approach to problem solving remains unsurpassed. He was a founder of the Sloan-Kettering Institute and a brilliant inventor, perfecting the diesel engine, automobile ignition systems, chrome painting, and dozens of other innovations that transformed the auto industry in the 1920s and ‘30s.

Kettering studied the solutions to problems he or others had already solved and reached the conclusion that solutions lie within the problem.

He noted that solutions were merely a change in perception, since the solution to the problem existed all along, within the problem itself. A problem-solver’s role was not to master a problem, but to make it generate its solution.

Solutions Alongside

So, in your pursuit of simplicity, when you encounter a problem, recognize that your solution likely is right alongside the problem itself.

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