​I have always believed in a philosophy of LESS IS MORE. 

The underlying message in LESS IS MORE is that we don’t need more to be happy, we can be happier and more content with LESS. For the past few years all my goals have centred around LESS IS MORE principles which have brought me so much peace, joy, contentment and happiness.

Here are some of the LESS IS MORE principles I use,

DO LESS, BE MORE

Sometimes I find life is just one big long to do list – this doesn’t bring me joy it brings me anxiety! Having less on my ‘to do list’ and more on my ‘to be list’ brings me peace, joy, contentment and happiness. I want to continue to DO LESS and enjoy BEING more!

WORK LESS, HAVE MORE TIME

For 25 years I worked in the corporate world which brought me much joy, many beautiful friendships and a certain amount of wealth. I left the corporate world 3+ years ago and my work was replaced with the gift of time. I want to continue to work less and spend my precious time in other areas of my life that are important to me and that bring me immense joy.

LESS EARNING, MORE LEARNING

This will be my 4th year in a row earning less money. This reduction in earnings has given me the gift of time which brings me more joy than any amount of money ever could. Over the past 3+ years I have used this time to learn more – learn more about myself, the world around me, what interests me, what work I want to do in the future, how to create passive income and how to earn more.

I’ll never return to the hours I used to work nor will I ever return to how I used to earn money. Less earning and more learning has taught me a different way that suits me better. In 2025 I am excited to get back to the work I love and the inevitable side effect of earning money again!

ACHIEVE LESS, ENJOY MORE

I’m not a big achievement chaser, enjoyment is way more important to me than achievement. Achievements aren’t hugely important to me yet I do have ambition – ambition to work towards and fulfil my dreams. On this journey towards my dreams, enjoyment of every step is much more important to me than achievements.

If I’m enjoying life, that’s achievement enough for me.

LESS SPEED, MORE PROGRESS

In my 20s, 30s and early 40s I lived life at a fast pace – always going, always doing, always striving, moving at the speed of light. A few years ago this all changed and I started to slow down. This slower lifestyle brings me more peace, tranquility and bliss than any fast paced life ever could!

Ironically I seem to be getting more done. Dr Wayne Dyer sums up this concept with his quote ‘Doing nothing yet getting it all done’.

LESS RESISTANCE, MORE ACCEPTANCE

Eckhart Tolle says ‘It may look like as if the situations in our life are creating the suffering but ultimately this is not so – it is our resistance to the situations that causes the suffering’.

I find this quote has deep wisdom to it, practicing less resistance and more acceptance is not easy yet it brings much peace. During the challenging times of the past few years I have found that some days the only thing I can do is practice acceptance. Acceptance doesn’t mean I like what has happened but it does mean I stop resisting it.

• Resistance brings a never ending cycle of pain.
• Acceptance has a way of easing that pain, the more acceptance the less pain.

Another quote from Eckhart helps us cultivate less resistance and more acceptance,

‘What could be more futile, more insane, than to create inner resistance to something that already is’.

LESS RUSHING, MORE RELAXING

• Rushing makes me feel under pressure and stressed which is not enjoyable for me.
• Relaxing makes me feel happy and peaceful which is immensely enjoyable for me.

I choose relaxing over rushing every single day.

LESS CONSUMING, MORE CREATING

For many years I spent much time consuming a huge amount of content – physical books, audiobooks, podcasts, YouTube videos and scrolling social media etc. That was until I experienced burnout and stopped all content consumption.

I still love consuming content in these ways, I just don’t love or do so much of it! These days I consume less and create more. I write more, learn more about writing, share more of my writing and I am developing more depth, meaning, openness and transparency in my writing.

BUY LESS, USE MORE

In terms of material things I have plenty and enough of everything. I used to love shopping for all sorts of things – clothes, make up, fancy toiletries, stuff for our home, books, stationary, the list goes on and on. The problem with this constant shopping was that I ended up with many things that I just didn’t use and eventually things that I no longer liked.

The irony is now that I have less, I use (and like) what I have more.

That’s it, my LESS IS MORE principles for 2025.

Ironically, with so much LESS comes so much MORE peace, joy, contentment and happiness.

​What would your LESS IS MORE PRINCIPLES be?

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Thanks for reading,

Siobhain

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