Quotes About Simplicity. Words That Hold Past The Aesthetic
simplicity has been aestheticized into something that does not actually simplify anything. the lines below come from writers who lived simpler lives on purpose, alongside the research on what less actually produces.
By Omar Rantisi, Founder of Therma7 min read
why simplicity is more than an aesthetic
the consumer behavior and wellbeing research has been investigating minimalism, voluntary simplicity, and reduced consumption for years. the consistent finding is that people who deliberately reduce material consumption tend to report measurable improvements in wellbeing, with reduced materialism as a key mediator. the relationship between money and happiness has been studied extensively and the pattern keeps repeating. above a moderate threshold, additional consumption produces minimal additional wellbeing. additional time, additional relationships, additional meaningful activity continues to produce wellbeing gains long after additional possessions stop doing so. the kindness and prosocial behavior research adds another layer. practicing acts of kindness measurably reduces materialism over time, possibly because it shifts the basis of meaning from acquisition to relationship. simplicity is also functional.
cluttered environments correlate with worse cognitive performance, higher stress markers, and worse sleep. reducing physical clutter produces measurable benefits that go beyond aesthetics. but the research is also clear about what does not work. expensive minimalism (curated wardrobes, designer simplicity, performative reduction) often produces the same materialism in different clothing. the wellbeing comes from actual reduction in consumption and attachment, not from a different style of consumption. the writers below understood this. their lines describe simplicity as a practice that reduces the noise around the things that actually matter.
“simplicity is not a style. it is the practice of removing what does not serve so the things that do can be fully present. the work is subtraction. the result is space.”
- henry david thoreau
"our life is frittered away by detail. " thoreau wrote walden while living in a small cabin he built himself. his life experiment was a deliberate reduction of material complexity to see what remained.
his observation that detail consumes life is empirically defensible. attention research consistently shows that fragmented attention produces lower wellbeing than focused attention.
- often attributed to leonardo da vinci
"simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." the attribution is contested but the principle has been validated in design research, software, and product science. systems that achieve a goal with fewer parts tend to be more reliable and easier to understand than complex ones. the principle applies to lives as well as to products.
- henry david thoreau
"as you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler. " thoreau again. the line captures something the simplicity research has been documenting.
when material complexity is reduced, the experience of what remains often changes character. things that felt impoverished in a complex life often feel sufficient in a simpler one.
- hans hofmann
" hofmann was a painter who wrote about visual composition. his observation applies to lives as much as to canvases.
people whose lives are full of unnecessary things often cannot hear what is necessary. simplicity is partly the practice of clearing space for what actually matters.
- lao tzu
"manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires." the tao te ching is one of the oldest texts on voluntary simplicity. lao tzu pointed to a connection that the modern materialism research keeps confirming. fewer desires correlates with higher wellbeing because the constant pursuit of more is itself a source of dissatisfaction.
- attributed to chuck palahniuk
" the line from fight club has become cultural shorthand for what the materialism research keeps confirming. possessions require maintenance, attention, and storage.
above a certain threshold, the cost of caring for what you own exceeds the benefit. ownership becomes inverted.
- eleanor roosevelt
"a little simplification would be the first step toward rational living." roosevelt's observation matches what the cognitive load research keeps finding. simplification reduces decision fatigue, which reduces stress, which improves judgment. people whose lives are not simplified make worse decisions on average than people who have removed unnecessary complexity.
- often attributed to ludwig mies van der rohe
" the line became modernist architecture's defining principle and has since been confirmed across multiple research domains. fewer obligations, fewer possessions, fewer commitments, all tend to correlate with higher wellbeing once basic needs are met.
the principle is not minimalism for its own sake. it is removal of what does not serve in service of what does.
practicing simplicity without making it complicated
the practice of real simplicity is more about subtraction than addition. first, audit what is in your life. material possessions, calendar commitments, subscriptions, relationships, mental loops. people who feel overwhelmed are usually carrying more than they need or chose. seeing what is actually there is the first move. second, reduce by category. clothes, books, kitchen items, digital subscriptions, regular meetings, recurring tasks. one category at a time tends to work better than trying to simplify everything at once. the question for each item is not whether you might use it. it is whether it earns its place in your life now. third, distinguish simple from minimalist. simple lives can include many things if those things are meaningful and used. minimalist lives can be complicated if the minimalism is curated, expensive, or performed. the goal is not to look minimalist. the goal is to reduce friction between you and what matters. fourth, simplify what you say yes to. calendar simplification is often higher leverage than possession simplification. people who attend fewer meetings, commit to fewer obligations, and protect more empty time consistently report higher wellbeing than people whose schedules are full but technically organized. fifth, simplify your information diet.
news, social media, email, notifications. these accumulate like physical clutter and have similar effects on attention and mood. reducing input is often the highest-leverage simplification available. sixth, accept that simplification is ongoing. things accumulate. obligations expand. relationships add commitments. the practice is not arriving at a simple life and stopping. it is regular maintenance to keep what does not serve from quietly returning. seventh, watch for performative simplicity. when simplicity becomes an aesthetic project, an identity, or a source of pride, it usually stops simplifying. real simplicity is unremarkable. it is the absence of complication, not the presence of a specific look. the lines below work as anchors during the moments your life feels too full. pick one. carry it. let it be the reminder that less, actually less, often produces more of what you wanted in the first place. therma's check-in catches the friction between what is in your life and what serves you, which is where simplicity is actually built.
Common questions
is simplicity the same as minimalism?
overlapping but not identical. minimalism is often associated with specific aesthetics (white walls, capsule wardrobes, curated possessions) that can themselves be complex or expensive. simplicity is broader. it includes reduction of any kind that produces more space for what matters. you can live a simple life that does not look minimalist (a full kitchen because you cook, a full bookshelf because you read). you can also live a minimalist life that is not actually simple (carefully curated reduction that requires significant attention to maintain). the wellbeing research is more concerned with actual reduction than with the visual style.
will simplifying my life make me happier?
often yes, but not automatically. the research consistently shows that reducing consumption, decluttering physical space, and limiting input tend to produce measurable wellbeing improvements. but if simplification becomes its own form of pursuit (more aggressive reduction, ongoing curation, comparison with others' simpler lives) it can produce the same dissatisfaction it was supposed to solve. the wellbeing comes from removing friction, not from optimizing reduction.
how do i start simplifying when everything feels necessary?
start small and start visible. one shelf, one drawer, one room. notice that nothing bad happens when you remove things you do not use. the brain learns that the items were not as necessary as it suggested. once the small reductions feel safe, larger ones become possible. also notice what you actually use versus what you keep just in case. the just-in-case category is where most clutter lives. for most of those items, the cost of keeping them exceeds the rare benefit of having them when needed.
is buying less the only way to be simple?
no. simplification often starts with possessions but extends to calendar, commitments, relationships, information, and attention. people whose schedules are full but whose homes are spare have not actually simplified. people whose relationships are too many to maintain well have not simplified. the practice is reduction of complexity across the dimensions of life that are producing friction, whatever those happen to be for you specifically.
what if simplicity feels boring?
sometimes the boredom is information. lives with constant input often produce a kind of stimulation tolerance that makes ordinary life feel flat. early reduction of input often feels uncomfortable specifically because the nervous system has adapted to higher levels. that adjustment usually passes within weeks. what feels boring at first often starts to feel spacious. if it continues to feel empty long-term, that may signal that the simplification went too far or removed something that actually mattered. calibration is part of the practice.
when should i see a professional about feeling overwhelmed by complexity?
when chronic overwhelm interferes with daily functioning. when you cannot identify what is producing the overwhelm. when overwhelm is connected to anxiety, depression, or trauma. when attempts to simplify keep failing because something feels in the way. therapy, coaching, and in some cases occupational health intervention can help. for some people the overwhelm is connected to adhd, which has effective treatments. you do not have to figure this out alone.
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Omar Rantisi
Founder of Therma. UCLA Math + Sociology. Building tools for the space between silence and therapy. Not a therapist. Just someone who needed this to exist.
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