Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.

Steve Jobs

Simplicity has always been underrated. In a pompous world, simplicity is losing its relevance today more than ever. We all might have read “Simplicity is the best policy” while growing up, but the phrase has lost its meaning in a world mired by decadence and clutter.

I, like most of the millennials, has drifted away from simplicity in every day life. Thinking in retrospect, simplicity has saved me in a lot of dilemmas in life. I’ve always been choosy in life and most of the things I pick up for myself or my household are a reflection of my eclectic tastes. However, this practice has given me creeps a lot of times specially while buying clothes. So many times, I parade through the entire mall without even buying a single piece of cloth(even boxers), despite I being in dire need of them. I walk through stores and stores but pick up nothing. I’m always looking for that exquisite piece of cloth which will catch my fancy. For the record, it took me five months, three cities, a dozen of malls and hundreds of stores to buy a single TIE. On some occasions, my inner voice channels the simplicity in me and I cave in and buy a simple shirt (or boxers). Apparently, when I open my cupboard some of the best clothes in it are the most simple ones. For instance, my favourite shirt today is not the shirt that I thought is the best shirt I’ve ever picked up but the shirt I thought will be worn in just one party and will never see the light of day again.

Even some of the best products are more simple than the others. Steve Jobs was one of the entrepreneurs who revolutionised design in its most simple form with Apple. His vision of “Great design and simple capabilities” is visible in mostly all the apple products. As the headline of Apple’s first marketing brochure proclaimed in 1977, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Jobs was a practitioner of Zen Buddhism, and his focus and simplistic design in the products have been inspired by the Zen principles.

Many of us confuse simplicity as an antonym to luxury as if it was a trade off between the two. However, some of the most luxurious products are more simplistic in nature. Simplicity is the absence of clutter and the focus on the essentials. It is easier said than done, to achieve simple is the most complex thing to do. Even in your life, once you drill down and remove all the clutter, you will be left with the most simple and sophisticated form of you. So, next time If you find yourself in a dilemma – Keep it simple.