Saturday, October 28, 2023
I've read Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown four times, and I'm sure I'll read it many more. It's a dose of reality that finds the balance between nihilism and optimism with the words: “You can do anything but not everything.”
The ideas presented in this book helped me develop the mindset needed to write (and-rewrite 15 times) my first novel. The author asks the question: If you could do only one thing what would it be? And once you answer that question, you then know where to direct your focus
As McKeown points out, for the first 500 years of its existence, the word "priority" was only used in the singular. There was no such thing as the word "priorities." The plural form was assumed to be inherently self-contradicting.
Kind of like humans.
Greg McKeown may at first appear as if he is asking you to evade responsibility. Instead, he's asking you to be highly disciplined by focusing on "the vital few" instead of "the trivial many."
It's about the art of learning to say no — not just to others, but to yourself, as well.
“Sometimes what you don’t do is just as important as what you do," McKeown writes. “If it isn’t a clear yes, then it’s a clear no.”
The author asks what will you want to look back on when you're lying on your death bed. What difference did you make to others and/or the world at large? McKeown argues that "once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, [only then] can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter.”
But Essentialism doesn't rush you into the life of an essentialist. It actually encourages a period of playful exploration, so that once you consciously choose your aims, you will not waver in your commitment to them.
The next step is eliminating everything that will get in the way. “The reality is," explains McKeown, "saying yes to any opportunity by definition requires saying no to several others.”
The concluding chapters focus on finding ways to make execution effortless. Well, almost effortless. For example, McKeown encourages sleep over coffee, listing examples of the shocking number of hours many of the world's most successful people spend with their heads on their pillows. “Sleep will enhance your ability to explore, make connections, and do less but better throughout your waking hours.”
If you are trying to lead a meaningful life, without getting burnt out, then I encourage you to purchase, read and re-read this book. It has been essential in helping me make several big life decisions and a thousand small daily choices.
You can order Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less through your local bookstore or online.
John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona: A Dystopian Love Story, the forthcoming All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of speculative fiction. Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber at: https://blazingpinecone.com/subscribe/
