The Reason You Keep Making Things More Complex Than They Should Be
Maybe there’s something you’re trying to hide
If you ever consume information about nutrition, relationships, fitness, or productivity, then you know that people often make things overly complex. Sometimes complexity is necessary but often it is not, and it can make things worse rather than better.
On the supply side, many people make things complex so they can sell them. It is hard to monetize the basics. But come up with an intricate and sexy-sounding approach to pretty much any endeavor and people will pay — and often a lot — for it. But what about the demand side? Why do people buy this stuff over and over again?
Perhaps because complexity is a way to avoid facing the reality that what really matters for most things in life is simply showing up and doing the work. Not thinking about it. Not talking about it. Not dreaming about it. But doing it. Put differently, maybe part of our attraction to complexity is that you can so easily hide behind it. Complexity feeds procrastination.
The more complex you make something, the easier it is to get excited about, talk about, and maybe even to get started. But the harder it is to stick to over the long-haul. Complexity gives you excuses and ways out and endless options for switching…
