Too many overheads
I’ve been reflecting on complexity. That might sound like an odd thing to do but stick with me for a moment.
People often say to me, “If only my life was simpler, I’d be happier and able to get more done.” Those of you who have attended one of my workshops will know that I disagree with this view. Life is a rich and sometimes unpredictable tapestry, full of challenges but also of opportunities. That’s just how it is and wishing for it to be different is a waste of time and emotional energy.
Usually what people really mean is that their life is burdened with unnecessary overheads.
Economists talk about deadweight loss: a waste of resources that could be averted without making anyone worse off.The Economist 20 Dec 2001
I love that term. It exactly brings to mind the problem. The layers of overheads we impose on ourselves waste time, energy and money. They restrict our choices and stop us pursuing opportunities. And you know what? We could be rid of them without making anyone else worse off. They are burdens, not obligations.
Without the deadweight loss of overheads we are more able to explore the richness of life.
So why do we allow these burdens? The truth is that I’m not sure. I suspect it is partly out of fear. Doing stuff – carrying burdens – makes us feel safer when scary things are happening around us and in our own life. I think there is also a touch of laziness. Ridding ourselves of overheads is harder than adding them. But mostly I think it’s because many of us take a passive approach to our life. We feel dissatisfaction and regret, we are unhappy or unfulfilled, but we can just drift along allowing life to happen to us instead of taking control.
As a society we do this all the time, adding unnecessary layers of overheads. So often we create a new law as a knee-jerk reaction even though we already have perfectly fine rules in place. More law, more overheads, more deadweight loss. Some people say that for good government we need a bill of rights to safeguard the community. But when you read the detail, you find that the rights it contains are already well established in existing law or are deeply entrenched in the norms of our society. More overheads, more deadweight loss.
Society ends up worse off because the wasted resources could have been put to better, more productive uses. See the link between society and our own lives? We have become so used to this that we often don’t see the damage it causes. We are just confused and frustrated because things always seem more difficult than they should be.
As with society, so with our own life.
I believe passionately that the most important achievements in life rarely happen by accident. But how can anyone live a better life without ridding themselves of their deadweight overheads?
Do we need all the rules we impose on ourself? Who would be worse off if we acted differently, allowed new thoughts, and took a different path? Who would be worse off if we simply went around the boulder in front of us, rather than stopping because it’s too heavy to lift?
As with society, so with our own life.
Do we need to stay within our self-imposed boundaries? Who would be worse off if we wrote a new script for our life, took time to care for ourselves, and did things that made us more satisfied? Who would be worse off if we decided that a bit of passion in our relationships was better than none?
No-one.
In fact, quite the opposite.
Getting rid of the deadweight loss of these overheads might not make you famous or a millionaire. You might still do the same job and have the same people around you. But I guarantee that you will have a simpler life – richer, more fulfilling, more enjoyable – and you’ll get more done.
And, hey, you might just become rich and famous. Remember me if you do!
