83 Simplicity Quotes For More Simplicity In Your Life

By Maxime Lagacé

Maxime is the founder of WisdomQuotes. He has been collecting quotes since 2004. His goal? To help you develop a calm and peaceful mind. Learn more about him on his about page.

Top 10 Quotes – Short – Funny – More Quotes – Visual – Takeaways – Further Readings

90% of people overthink things.

The result?

They don’t make progress in their lives.

They feel stuck.

That’s why I’ve collected 83 of the best simplicity quotes for you.

What’s my goal?

To help you find clarity and simplicity in your life.

You’ll discover amazing quotes from Buddha, Thoreau, Plato, and many more.

Enjoy!

Top 10 Simplicity Quotes

Simplicity boils down to two steps: Identify the essential. Eliminate the rest. Leo Babauta

Less stuff equals more freedom. Maxime Lagacé

If buying stuff hasn’t made you happy, maybe getting rid of it will. Joshua Becker

He who is contented is rich. Lao Tzu

I will not say yes when my heart says no. Courtney Carver

The less I needed, the better I felt. Charles Bukowski

Receive without conceit, release without struggle. Marcus Aurelius

A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone. Henry David Thoreau

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook. William James

The greatest wealth is a poverty of desires. Seneca

Short Simplicity Quotes

Discern the vital few from the trivial many. Greg McKeown

The greatest wealth is to live content with little. Plato

The expression of truth is simplicity. Seneca

The greatest ideas are the simplest. William Golding

Simplicity compounds. Complexity zeros out. Shane Parrish

Squint at the world. You will see more, by seeing less. John Maeda (The Laws Of Simplicity)

If everything is important, then nothing is. Patrick M. Lencioni

Simplify, then add lightness. Colin Chapman

If you’re not saying “HELL YEAH!” about it, say “no.” Derek Sivers (Hell yeah! YouTube video)

I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures. Lao Tzu

Simplicity is the essence of happiness. Cedric Bledsoe

The most complicated skill is to be simple. Dejan Stojanovic

The greatest truths are the simplest: so likewise are the greatest men. Augustus William Hare

Simplicity and harmony are the ultimate conditions to be attained in all things. Horace Fletcher

Owning less is great. Wanting less is better. Joshua Becker

You don’t need more space, you need less stuff. Joshua Becker

I love to go and see all the things I am happy without. Socrates

He is the richest who is content with the least. Socrates

My philosophy? Simplicity plus variety. Hank Stram

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Jesus Christ

Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things. Robert Brault

It takes a long time to learn how to do something simple. Marty Rubin

Complexity creates confusion, simplicity focus. Edward de Bono

Or, rather, let us be more simple and less vain. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Funny And Surprising Simplicity Quotes

There is one advantage to having nothing, it never needs repair. Frank A. Clark

Expert: Someone who brings confusion to simplicity. Gregory Nunn

It’s not what’s under the tree, it’s who’s around it. Charlie Brown

It’s not a good deal if you don’t need it. Unknown

If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live. Lin Yutang

Simplify your life. You don’t grow spiritual, you shrink spiritual. Steve Maraboli

I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead. Mark Twain

To poke a wood fire is more solid enjoyment than almost anything else in the world. Charles Dudley Warner

People love chopping wood. In this activity one immediately sees results. Albert Einstein

Related

More Quotes About Simplicity

Every increased possession loads us with a new weariness. John Ruskin

Saying no is more important than saying yes. Shane Parrish

He is not rich, that enjoyeth not his own goods. Pythagoras

Make room for things that matter by removing everything that doesn’t. Brian Gardner

Let’s stop telling each other how busy we are. Unknown

There is no greatness where there is not simplicity, goodness, and truth. Leo Tolstoy

The more simple we are, the more complete we become. August Rodin

It is vain to do with more what can be done with less. William Of Occam

Order your soul. Reduce your wants. Augustine of Hippo

simplicity quotes richer happier freer francine jay wisdom

To be richer, happier, and freer, all you need to do is want less. Francine Jay

Slow down. Do less. Maxime Lagacé

A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy? Albert Einstein

My greatest skill has been to want little. Henry David Thoreau

Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like. Will Rogers

Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Eliminate physical clutter. More importantly, eliminate spiritual clutter. D.H. Mondfleur

Simplicity is the peak of civilization. Jessie Sampter

Nothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great. Ralph Waldo Emerson

I do believe in simplicity. It is astonishing as well as sad, how many trivial affairs even the wisest thinks he must attend to in a day. Henry David Thoreau

How many things are there which I do not want? Socrates

The most important things in life aren’t things. Kenneth Clarke

Beware the barrenness of a busy life. Socrates

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Leonardo da Vinci

Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires. Lao Tzu

To live a pure unselfish life, one must count nothing as one’s own in the midst of abundance. Buddha

The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity. Bruce Lee

simplicity quotes frittered away detail thoreau wisdom

Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify. Henry David Thoreau

That’s been one of my mantras – focus and simplicity. 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

The more things you have, the more things you have to manage. Simplicity isn’t merely cheaper, it’s easier. James Clear

Let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail. Henry David Thoreau

Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. Albert Einstein

There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult. Warren Buffett

The simplest things are often the truest. Richard Bach

Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. Steve Jobs

One should use common words to say uncommon things. Arthur Schopenhauer

One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple. Jack Kerouac

Related: The 10 Most Important Things to Simplify in Your Life (becomingminimalist.com)

Conclusion

Possessions, outward success, publicity, luxury – to me these have always been contemptible. I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best for both the body and the mind. Albert Einstein

Visual For Simplicity

You see how few things you have to do to live a satisfying and reverent life? Marcus Aurelius

Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains. Jean-Jacques Rousseau

What is right is not always popular and what is popular is not always right. Albert Einstein

Key Takeaways

Simplify your life: You need less than you think.
Get rid of stuff: Too much will drain your time and energy.
Focus on a handful of things: your health, love, and mission. Ignore everything else.
Who is wise? The one who knows what’s important and what’s not.
Want a simple way to simplify your life? Learn to say no, a lot (betterup.com)