Less is More, More or less
“To understand the true quality of people, you must look into their minds, and examine their pursuits and aversions.” - Marcus Aurelius
How many ‘likes’ do you have on your web page? What is your latest tally of friends on Facebook? Is this tenth selfie of me, in the last five minutes, okay or do I need to take another one? Will anyone appreciate how much work I have put into my profile?
When did quantity take over for quality? Do we believe in the idea that quality is more important than quantity? Maybe not! Current trends seem to adhere to the opposite opinion.
It seems possible that quantity is pushing superficiality to a new level. Image is no longer the most important thing it is the only thing.
When we say less is more, do we really believe it? The evidence says that we see ourselves as never having enough, which leads many to believe they are never enough.
Advertising has cashed in on this same principle that you always need more, more of everything. The ‘more is more’ philosophy is alive and well and does wonders for the economy. What is it doing for you?
Is this insatiable need for more of everything part of our current dilemma and our chaotic future? Or, are we in need of some restraint?
“The 'reality' shows on television, the Internet, these things have encouraged people to behave with less and less restraint. We are broadcasting our emotions in public in a way that has never happened before.” - Tim Pigott-Smith
Having Restraint
Arthur Schopenhauer described the value of restraint. He saw restraint as a vital tool to assuage an endless push of desire, which might reduce human suffering, and protect inner peace.
Perhaps Schopenhauer realised that humans need the power of self-discipline. Endless pursuit of anything without a means of restraint, according to Schopenhauer, would inevitably lead to disaster. Not just financial disaster but also psychological turmoil in the form of confusion, uncertainty and disorder.
Restraint does not have to be about only unhealthy pursuits. It is not just about addiction or obsessive and compulsive behaviours. Restraint appears to be necessary even in some healthy pursuits.
Too much of even a good thing could be harmful down the line. Many investors have realised this fact, after having their best day on the stock market, and then over investing in the market. Sometimes less is more.
Self-Discipline
“Happiness is dependent on self-discipline. We are the biggest obstacles to our own happiness. It is much easier to do battle with society and with others than to fight our own nature.” - Dennis Prager
To achieve restraint, we must first have self-discipline. This skill allows us to alter reactive thoughts and actions and change them into more apropos behaviours.
I will be less impulsive and more reflective. I will deliberate my thoughts and feelings before putting them into motion.
Does self-discipline feel haphazard? No, it is planned and structured rather than random.
One is under control not out of control. I am now beginning to establish a more ordered way of being that will produce better outcomes due to my improved sense of direction. Does social media give me this potential or does it take it away?
Social media is more about FOMO, or a fear of missing out. The quantity is there but what about the quality.
Could I call upon these so-called friends in a dire personal emergency? Probably not. Maybe one real friend has more value than thousands online. Sometimes less is more.
“I'd love to tell actors about all the things they don't need to worry about. Less is more. If you have it inside, you don't need to show too much. People pick up on things.” - Sigourney Weaver
The Point of Diminishing Returns
When we lack restraint and self-discipline we naturally move toward a ‘more is more’ direction. At some point there is a fall-off in quality with the constant increase in a need for quantity. Even in pornography we know that at some point the sex drive is desensitised and the libido starts to decrease with more use of porn. Impotency may be the final resting place for a ‘more is more’ pornographic addiction.
The point of diminishing returns concept favours quality over quantity. All the extra effort results in a smaller increase in output. While total output may still grow, the extra gain from each new input begins to shrink.
This even matches up with the idea of increasing someone’s medication. At some point an increase in medication will have a negligible, if any, positive effect on the person. They may actually have to change medications at that point of their treatment
Another example would be adding seats to an arena. Adding numbers brings in more quantity of people to watch the event but the quality of the event becomes compromised when people are too far away to actually enjoy the event. Maybe you have attended a popular concert and have experienced this first-hand.
Implications
It does appear that the benefits of the more agenda have a few doubters. Otherwise, why would we remind people that they could be “biting off more than they could chew”. This is an effective reminder that you might be taking on more responsibility than you can manage.
Also, some doubters suggest that there is “more than meets the eye” to this situation. In other words, there might be some complexity or depth to the situation that you have not considered.
Still others might proclaim that there is “more than one way to skin a cat”. This proposes that there is a multiplicity of ways to deal with something.
And lastly, you might be getting “more than you bargained for”. Leaving you in a position of being surprised by the unexpected.
Is “the more the merrier” really better? To stay in step with the title of this chapter, I will stop here and be true to the premise that less is more, more or less.
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