I’ve learned that we often call something “complex” when what we really mean is uncomfortable. Complexity gives us permission to keep thinking. Simplicity often forces us to act.
My only nuance: not every excuse can be removed. But almost every excuse can be examined honestly. Sometimes the most productive question is simply: What would I do next if I stopped explaining why I can’t?
The excuse-or-remove framing lands, Trent. The people I see with long-term pain have usually made the problem more complex than it needs to be, and the simple move is right in front of them once they stop defending the harder one.
We like to make meaning out things, and that meaning making turns into complex stories told by our brains to make sense of it all. I’m learning day by day…it is what it is. And noticing when I go off on a meaning making tangent.
Trent, the simplicity here really lands.
I’ve learned that we often call something “complex” when what we really mean is uncomfortable. Complexity gives us permission to keep thinking. Simplicity often forces us to act.
My only nuance: not every excuse can be removed. But almost every excuse can be examined honestly. Sometimes the most productive question is simply: What would I do next if I stopped explaining why I can’t?
That one can be uncomfortable. And useful.
Thanks for the thoughtful and insightful comments.
The excuse-or-remove framing lands, Trent. The people I see with long-term pain have usually made the problem more complex than it needs to be, and the simple move is right in front of them once they stop defending the harder one.
We like to make meaning out things, and that meaning making turns into complex stories told by our brains to make sense of it all. I’m learning day by day…it is what it is. And noticing when I go off on a meaning making tangent.
That’s a great way to explain it and approach it.