This post is my reflection on the book Essentialism: Disciplined Pursuit of the Less. I have already discussed:
- What is Essentialism?
- Finding the vital few by creating space for thinking.
As a follow-up to the series, let’s look into some tools that can help us “think” better.
Finding the essential means figuring out what’s more important in a pool of items. A form of prioritization basically. One way to prioritize between two items is to think about their trade-offs.
That’s our first tool for thinking better: Trade-off.
Non-Essentialists Run Away from Trade-offs
Our lives are full of trade-offs. Unfortunately, we often get tempted to deny its reality. After all, by definition, a trade-off involves two things that we desire.
Do you want more pay or more holidays? 🤔
A non-essentialist approaches every trade-off by asking, “How can I do both?”. Please don’t. Every time you avoid trade-offs, you let in trivial things in your life.
We can try to avoid the reality of trade-offs, but we can’t escape them.
Essentialists Celebrate Trade-offs
You must embrace trade-offs to become an essentialist. An Essentialist makes trade-offs deliberately. They ask the tougher but ultimately more liberating questions, “Which problem do I want?”.
For essentialists, trade-offs are an inherent part of life. An opportunity to cut off the non-essential and go big in one direction.
Instead of thinking: “What do I have to give up?”, ask yourself, “What do I want to go big on”?
An essentialist stays vigilant to pick up every opportunity for trade-offs. They stop every time they catch themselves thinking: I can do both.
There is always a Sacrifice
Is it ever possible to do both? Yes. Sometimes.
In rare cases, both things can be essential. But you must make sure that you have prioritized them honestly. And even when you have rationalized your decision to do them both, ask yourself, what did you sacrifice?
There is always a sacrifice.
By choosing to do them both, perhaps you increase your chances of promotion at work, but at the cost of more stress and lower work-life balance. This is fine, as long as it is an intentional choice.
Without clarity and deep thinking behind each choice, you won’t be able to practice Essentialism properly. Just like any other skill, you have to master it by practicing.
Don’t get too hung up on Trade-off
Remember, it’s just one of the tools for finding the essentials. Don’t get too hung up on it.
You don’t have to make the perfect decision at every trade-off you face in life. As long as you don’t run away, it’s progress in the right direction.