Complexity is ubiquitous in the personal growth world, especially when it comes to productivity, nutrition, exercising, weight loss or weight gain.
Experts have us believe that elaborate solutions and strategies are the key to success—when in fact the opposite is true. Simplicity and fundamentals are the key to success.
Complexity is a form of avoidance. We create elaborate plans, products, routines when we’re atraid of failure. The complex solution gives us more confidence that things will work out. The intricacies, added programme features, additional steps are satety blankets.
Complexity is also a form of laziness. It’s an excuse for not investigating deeply enough to discern the fundamentals.
Complexity is a form of procrastination, too, which allows us to stay in the stages of planning and strategising, ie behind the curtains — rather than step on the stage and do the doing and executing.
I finally reached my ideal body weight when I prioritised two simple principles — calorie deficit (I wanted to lose weight) and nutritious and healthy diet that I enjoyed.
Similarly, my strength improved at a much quicker rate when I dropped the complex strength training routines and focused just on four compound movements — deadlift, squat, bench press and shoulder press.
The two most important principles for achieving anything are consistency and enjoyment.
Consistency means investing time in it, on a regular basis, for the long-run.
Enjoyment means that the activity energies you more than it drains you on balance. All things considered, it enhances rather than harms your life.
Enjoyment is foundational for consistency. So start there and consider how you can work toward your goal in a manner that’s enjoyable. Whatever your goal is, there most likely are myriad ways of achieving it — discover the one that works for you and energises you more than it drains you.
And then, spend time on it on a regular basis and strip your process to the basics. The fewer steps something involves, the easier it is to practice it consistently, which is another reason why complexity harms progress.