Lesson 5: My Inner Voice

Lesson 28

Less Is More in Designing Your Happiness

GOAL

To understand that less is more to greater satisfaction, happiness, and hope

PATHWAYS

VIEW Design Matters: Doing Better with Less

COMMENT How would you apply this concept of decreasing things in your life to experience increase? Do you struggle with the desire to have the latest, the newest, and the most expensive? How do you feel when you buy the latest, the newest, and the best? How long does the feeling of joy last after a big purchase? Please explain.

READ In today’s divided and volatile world, we need an outside-the-box solution to achieve happiness. Economics is a good place to start. The world’s economy was created in response to peoples’ desperate desire to alleviate scarcity and lack. Even after thousands of years of improvements and advancement, our current system still reflects lack. Surely, you have heard, “Buy now while supply lasts!”

When humans had little means to improve productivity, they lived in a world full of deficiencies, or the “less is less” economy. Scarcity and lack were very real. To ensure survival, people had to go after as many resources as possible, creating fierce competition. Getting all you could get before somebody else gets it, went on for thousands of years. A mentality of lack imprinted an acute desire to acquire more on the human instinct. Such instinct motivated people to keep working hard and smart to advance civilizations in order to turn less into more. Slowly but steadily, human efforts produced great benefits, and innovative products and services followed. The dawn of the Industrial Revolution saw productivity grow exponentially. In a matter of decades, Western society was to the point where people believed that more meant success. The middle class obtained wealth and finally happiness seemed to be within reach, but the more we had, the less satisfied we became.

The “less is more” economy explores an abundant and fulfilling life by moving away from material/ financial excess in order to unleash our true potential. Good-bye to the draining and endless competition for more stuff. The “less is more” economy is not so much about material less-ness, but rather, a realization that the pursuit of more material does not necessarily lead to greater happiness or fulfillment.

4yu.info/?i=98281

The current system embraces “more” because it was the best weapon to maximize quantifiable outcomes in defense of lack. But the idea that more is always better is a misconception. It is not better. The question is, “What best fits your needs?”

A “less is more” economy can flip the dynamics and start generating “more” from “less.” We can transform the current “get more” economy to a resilient “more from less” economy. To make the transition from 1+1 = 22 to 1+1 = “∞” (= infinity), we need a mentality of “more from less” that forces innovation and unquantifiable outputs.

COMMENT Big questions for a “less is more” economy include: • Will producing and consuming less shrink the economy and result in massive job losses, or will it create jobs? • What kind of jobs are being created by today’s aggressive and competitive economy? • Are those jobs accessible and reliable to provide you with a lifelong income? • Are those jobs creating a sense of fulfillment and making people happy? • What is the definition of a job? When you are contemplating the kind of life you want, consider style over production. Embrace your inherent self to build hope and resilience. Imagine a large life with less stuff when designing your own happiness. Explore alternatives to the current “get more” economy.

REFLECT How can you redesign your life to do more with less? What would it look like to have high quality locally produced products rather than more of lower quality products produced in other communities?

Form small groups to brainstorm the creation of your own company. You pick your team remembering diversity is strength. The goal is to form a small enterprise that has the potential for high profitability. Your goals are products that produce happiness, joy, and satisfaction for producer and consumer. It is not about passion as much as it is opportunity. Time is limited, and the mission is high level concepts, vision, and goals.

WILLPOWER I will design my own happiness understanding that, often, less is more.