Beyond the Finish Line:

Running and Living with Purpose

The NC500 Guide to Life

Keep It Simple Stupid

Day 5

Keep It Simple Stupid

There are days when everything goes well, days we are able to handle life’s little challenges and setbacks and perform beyond expectation.

If we or someone else were to stop us and ask how your day has gone, we would pause for a moment to reflect and then reply,

“Really well, it’s been a really good day”.

These are the day to enjoy . . . so enjoy them.

Because there will be days where we feel the opposite, that everything is against us, challenging us and no matter how hard we try, nothing we do to try and make it better . . . we fail.

These are the days to be kind on ourselves, but these are also days where we must work on ourselves.

In today’s noisy, often chaotic world, we often find ourselves overwhelmed with the demands of modern living. Too many choices, too much over deliberation, often leads to inaction, one of my football managers Steve Coppell called it ‘paralysis by analysis’.

Simplicity creates clarity.

By simplifying our lives, we gain mental clarity, reduce stress, and improve productivity.

There were times during my run when I was struggling, in these times it was hard not to have thoughts enter my mind which complicated things further, like working out what time I was due to make it to the end point for that day, how I was going to get food, if I’m struggling today how am I going to get through tomorrow that’s a tougher stage.

All of these thoughts I went over and over, the problem with over rumination is that we always focus on the negatives, creating negative emotions that are more significant than they need to be in reality.

The worry will always be worse than the reality.

When we simplify our tasks, goals, and priorities, we reduce the mental clutter that often clouds our judgment.

We free ourselves from the burden of excessive information and decision-making.

This reduction in mental strain leads to lower stress levels, improved concentration, and enhanced problem-solving abilities.

In these situations, I often said to myself “Keep it simple stupid”, There is no use worrying about dinner tonight or what I’ve got to contend with tomorrow, just focused on what you’ve got to get through now in this moment, the present.

Get to the road sign ahead, or the tree, or the next kilometre break it down into micro steps.

This keep it simple stupid philosophy can be applied to all areas of our life, decision making, relationships, finances.

When we embrace simplicity, we find that happiness often lies in the uncomplicated moments, and this helps to enrich our lives.

So next time you feel burdened by too many options, apply the KISS principle to help your journey towards a more balanced and fulfilling life.