We hear a lot in our lives that “less is more” – you can work less, just work smarter, and then you’ll have more. The 80/20 rule is predicated on this principle: that you spend about 80% of your time dealing with the 20% that is problematic. If you spend less time on the problems, then you will have more time to deal with the good stuff. Anti-consumerism also states that less is more – buy less and you’ll have more happiness, more money, and more time to spend with friends and meaningful experiences.
However, sometimes less is not more.
Consider goal-setting. Let’s say you want to do less administrivia. Ok. Great. So what do you want to do MORE of? More calling clients? More relationship building? More research? More design? You can’t set goals around “less” but you can set goals around “more”.
Consider personal development. Let’s say you want to be less stressed out. Good start. But what do you want MORE of? More time for meditation? More time dining out with friends? More time reading through journals and resources that inspire you? What do you want MORE of?
Consider your business. What if you want less aggravation? Fine. What do you want MORE of? More clients who pay on time? More clients who appreciate your efforts and imagination? More lengthy projects where you build relationships and co-create over time?
When you find yourself feeling that you want less of something, that’s a clue to pause and reflect. Nature abhors a vacuum. You can’t just have “less” because something needs to fill that space. So what do you want to fill it with? What do you want MORE of?
Lisa Sansom is the Founder of LVS Consulting. A certified coach and positive psychology practitioner, Lisa helps businesses, teams and individuals be at their best. For more information, please visit LVS Consulting.