In an overcomplicated world, what many of us crave deep down is greater simplicity: less clutter, fewer commitments, less static and chaos.
This ingenious
set of Simplicity Cards by The School of Life asks us a range of deceptively simple questions – which we can answer by ourselves or with friends – that focus our minds on what really counts.
They give us confidence to assess what we might give up on and where our true focus should lie. They ask us to look at our careers, our relationships, our family lives, and our ambitions more broadly. In a few easy steps, the cards help us prioritize and sift – and, with gentle humor, guide us to the simpler lives we long for and deserve.
Instructions
1. These cards are designed to be used either on your own or with a group of friends. You might use them as journal prompts or as topics to chat about over (a simple) drink or dinner.
2. The emphasis is repeatedly on discovering what can be given up without too much loss – once we learn what is necessary to our flourishing. The principle is: the more we know what we really need, the less we are going to badly want; the more we understand ourselves, the less we will crave without focus. Over-abundance is the result of psychological confusion; simplicity is the fruit of accurate self-knowledge.
3. Once you have learned the essentials from these cards, give them away to someone who may need them more than you do.
Questions include:
- Name ten ‘friends’ you keep seeing but that – in truth – you might be entirely content never to meet up with again.
- You’ve probably read hundreds of books to date. Which three have really mattered?
- Imagine that you were only allowed to make two more trips abroad in your life. Where still offers you something – and why?
- It’s the end of your life; what are two things you really want to tell the world in brief and simple terms?
