Simplicity Will Help You Accomplish So Much

There is a principle in problem solving that says that the simplest solution is usually the best one.  It has also been referred to Occam’s Razor.  The idea is that people will often attempt to over-complicate a situation that requires a very rudimentary solution.

I am reminded of a personal example in my home.  I was having trouble with my fireplace smoking and I spent several hours on internet research trying to figure it out with no success.  I had owned several homes with fireplaces and thought I understood them well.  I happened to mention it to a friend of mine who merely said: “Your flue is closed.”  Simple and to the point.  I told him that the flue, the flap that opens up the chimney on top of the fire, was indeed open and it was the first thing I did.  He then asked simply if I had looked UP the chimney to make sure it was open.  I went home and it turned out that the lever that controlled the flue was in the open position, but it had partially slipped out of its control arm, and while it appeared to be open, simply looking upwards showed the malfunction immediately which I fixed and never had another issue!

There are two interesting aspects to this story.  Firstly, my friend did not have a fireplace, he merely mentioned the simplest explanation that occurred to him.  This is significant because he did not need to be an expert in fireplaces, chimney, flues or airflow to suggest a solution.  None of the internet resources I looked at even hinted at checking if the flue was open!  They skipped over the simplest solution and suggested much more complicated explanations.

Secondly, even though I said that the flue was open, he asked if I had checked.  Another simple yet often overlooked step to finding a solution: verify that the simplest solution has been tried first before attempting more complicated steps.

As you can seen, I made these two errors without even realizing it.  If I had tried the simplest solution AND verified that it was working, I would have found the solution very quickly. 

The question that often comes up is why do we do this?  Why do we look for complicated solutions in a world where the simplest is often the most effective?

                                                “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

                                                                -Variously attributed

When I am asked about the best way to grow wealth, I simply ask people if they are spending less than they make and investing the difference wisely.

When I am asked about getting in better shape, I simply ask people if they are exercising in some way every day for 20-30 minutes and eating most healthy foods.

When I am asked about the best way to have healthier family relationships, I simply ask if they regularly sit down to family meals with no devices and just enjoy each others’ company.

There are numerous examples of this and I certainly do not have all of the right answers or even the majority of them, however, I have found over and over again that these simple solutions make an excellent starting point towards the achievement of something.

There is also nothing particularly sophisticated about these solutions and that is probably why people resist them.  They feel that human beings and the world are complicated and that simple solutions simply cannot solve our issues, there MUST be something more complex that they have to do.

The reality is that the simplest solution, that we often know, as I did with the open flue, is the correct one.  If we have exhausted simple solutions and verified that they have not worked, then it may be time to look at more complex ideas, but until then, we should attempt the thing we know will probably work, and we may be pleasantly surprised at the results.