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"The simplest thing" quote

by perneali45
4 replies
Hi, guys!

There's this quote that talks about the value of finding the absolute simplest thing that will bring us the results we want.

It's very valuable, because it helps us avoid complicated solutions that are tough to follow anyway. Instead, it leads us to find simple and elegant solutions.

For example, if someone wants to lose fat, they may be tempted to say:

"I need to kill myself in the gym 6 days a week for one hour."
(so I will burn more calories).

That might indeed work, but a much simpler solution may be:

"I need to drink more water"
(so I feel fuller which will make me eat less, which will reduce my total caloric intake).

The quote was going something like this:

"Let the simplest thing dominate your thinking and your actions, blah blah blah..."

(I know I have butchered it).

I have been searching everywhere to find this quote, but can't find it now.

Do you happen to know how this quote goes?

Thanks!
#the simplest thing
  • Profile picture of the author cynthiaSEL
    Originally Posted by perneali45 View Post

    quote that talks about the value of finding the absolute simplest thing
    It's a principle, Occam's razor, that the simpler explanation or choice is better.
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  • Profile picture of the author Odahh
    then again the simple answer to a complex problem tends to make things worse ..

    drink water is easy enough ..i drink close to a gallon a day ..but i dry out fast and sweat far more than average ..

    drink water.. regularly suppliment mineral and vitimin intake..and stop eating like an american ..

    the stop eating like an american part ..

    living in las vegas talking to many forien tourist nd traveling outside the us myself ..portion sizes are crazy ..in america ..
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  • Profile picture of the author Reimaru
    I'd interpret it to say that instead of having a complex and vague goal, you should have a list of simple actions.
    Lose weight?
    Do 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, and run 10km every day until you lose the weight.
    Skip oily fast food, eat a steak and salad. Learn how to make delicious and healthy food (Italian cuisine, French, etc.).
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    Success, Finance, Leadership Blog: YourWealthyMind.com
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  • Profile picture of the author StevePTanner
    I love this,

    I am only now getting into a habit of goal setting. The reason that is that we are trained to think of setting goals as difficult or hard work - It isn't

    Once you start to think about your goals as designing your perfect life, and when you can remove everyone else's expectations of what you should be, then it becomes an inspiration and a pleasure to work on daily.

    Once the goals are down on paper though (and this goes for the big goals as well as the small goals) then all we need to do is focus on the next simple step.

    This is where Occam's Razor comes in and by having this one small shift in how we view our goal setting we can eliminate so much of the overwhelm that stops us living an abundant life.

    I have also found that by doing this I am starting to achieve more in life even without specifically setting a goal.
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