LivSimpl

How humility is a fundamental key to simplicity.

It seems appropriate since this site is about simplicity, that I’ve spent some time pondering what causes our lives to become complicated in the first place. Sure, work and other obligations add stress to our lives and, often, these things can’t be ignored. And while we have more control over things like sitting in traffic, doing laundry and other minutiae they usually can’t be eliminated completely, all the while adding stress and sipping away at our time.

“How am I going to get this project done with all my other responsibilities?”

“How am I going to get around while my car is in the shop and how am I going to find the money to pay for it all?”

More complication. More stress.

The other night I grabbed a ride home from work with a friend of mine, Hunter, and his wife. In front of their speedometer/tachometer was a little note that simply read, “Live Humble”. My friend chuckled when I commented on it and said it was to help him stay calm when there are stupid drivers on the road.

It was then I had an “ah-ha!” moment: humility is fundamental to simplicity.

When confronted with something that could complicate his life and cause stress that he has no control over (bad drivers), Hunter had made a decision to be humble about his circumstances. Instead of getting upset, he’d be humble and let it roll off his back, thus keeping those negative triggers of stress and angst out of his day. He can’t change his circumstances, but he can be humble in his outlook and behavior toward those circumstances. The result? A simpler, more peaceful commute.

This principle reaches beyond driving.

My father in-law is a wonderful example of having humility in challenging circumstances. At work, he and his team worked very hard on a project with the promise of a significant bonus. They reached their goal, only to be told they’d have to wait until after the holidays to receive the bonus. Frustrating.

Finally, sometime in late January my father in-law got the e-mail that was to contain the amount of his bonus. With eager anticipation he opened it and saw the amount of the bonus: $0.

He could have reacted many different ways: storming down to his boss’s office and demanding to know why he wasn’t given the bonus he was promised and worked so hard to achieve comes to mind (I am no poster child of humility). Or he could have let it eat away at him, causing him to be a grouch for weeks on end, stewing in resentment.

I’m sure he had to work through some negative feelings – we all would. However, my father in-law is a humble man. I had no idea this had happened until I read a humorous post on his blog about the situation! He made a joke out of it! He didn’t let the disappointment of something at work complicate his life at the office, or at home, with stress and bitterness.

Is it better to be angry, mean and miserable and out a bonus, or just be out the bonus?

Of course, this is easier said than done. It’s a principle that has to be practiced and striven for over time. As we go along, we’ll fail at it. But each time we’re able to practice humility successfully, we have more control over our lives (not our circumstances, but our perspective of those circumstances) which results in a simpler, more peaceful existence.

LivSimpl

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Monday, February 4th, 2008 at 11:16 am and is filed under Perspective. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.