370 Simplicity Quotes That Will Transform Your Life

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

Less stuff equals more freedom. Maxime Lagacé

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

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

He who is contented is rich. Lao Tzu

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

Receive without conceit, release without struggle. Marcus Aurelius

The greatest wealth is a poverty of desires. Seneca

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

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Saying no is more important than saying yes. Shane Parrish

Every increased possession loads us with new weariness. John Ruskin

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

Why should we pay so much attention to what the majority thinks? Socrates

Related quotes and topics: solitude, Marcus Aurelius, Zen

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The Best Simplicity Quotes

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The more you have, the more you are occupied. The less you have, the more free you are. Mother Teresa

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

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

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

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

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

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 Click to tweet

Men are not great or small because of their material possessions. They are great or small because of what they are. James Cash Penney

Order your soul. Reduce your wants. Augustine of Hippo

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

Getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter allows you to remember who you are. Simplicity doesn’t change who you are, it brings you back to who you are. Courtney Carver

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

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials. Lin Yutang

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

Small needs lead to a large life. Unknown

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

Eat, drink and love… the rest is not worth a nickel. Lord Byron

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

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

 

What is Simplicity?

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Simplicity is the peak of civilization. Jessie Sampter

Simplicity is a state of mind. Charles Wagner Click to tweet

Simplicity is when you remove anything useless. Maxime Lagacé

Simplicity is the end result of long, hard work, not the starting point. Frederick Maitland

Simplicity is making the journey of this life with just baggage enough. Charles Warner

Simplicity is the most difficult thing to secure in this world; it is the last limit of experience and the last effort of genius. George Sand

Simplicity is the nature of great souls. Papa Ramadas

Part 2. Simplicity Quotes That Are…

The Most Famous Simplicity Quotes (Thoreau, Oprah, Bruce Lee, etc.)

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

Beware the barrenness of a busy life. Socrates

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. Leonardo da Vinci

Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. Confucius

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. Lao Tzu

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

Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple. Dr. Seuss

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. Ernst F. Schumacher

Nature is pleased with simplicity. And nature is no dummy. Isaac Newton

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

All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope. Winston Churchill

To be content, look backward on those who possess less than yourself, not forward on those who possess more. If this does not make you content, you don’t deserve to be happy. Benjamin Franklin

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

As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness. Henry David Thoreau

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

If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough. Oprah Winfrey

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

It is not daily increase but daily decrease, hack away the unessential. The closer to the source, the less wastage there is. Bruce Lee

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

Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is hard to make something simple. Richard Branson

Don’t confuse having a career with having a life. Hillary Clinton

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

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

Short Simplicity Quotes

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One-liners, short simplicity quotes, thoughts and captions for your bio, social status, self-talk, motto, mantra, signs, posters, wallpapers, backgrounds.

The greatest wealth is to live content with little. Plato Click to tweet

Smile, breathe and go slowly. Thich Nhat Hanh

The expression of truth is simplicity. Seneca

The greatest ideas are the simplest. William Golding

Simplicity compounds. Complexity zeros out. Shane Parrish

The things you own end up owning you. Joshua Fields Millburn

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

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

Simplify, then add lightness. Colin Chapman

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

The simplest things are often the truest. Richard Bach

Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance. Coco Chanel

If it isn’t a clear yes, then it’s a clear no. Greg McKeown

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 is the friend of execution. Sesan Kareem

Don’t rush. Go slowly. Be present. Leo Babauta

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

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

Give all you can give and take only what you need. The Minimalists

A place for everything, and everything in its place. Francine Jay (Miss Minimalist)

Discern the vital few from the trivial many. Greg McKeown Click to tweet

If it doesn’t matter, get rid of it. Unknown

My philosophy? Simplicity plus variety. Hank Stram

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

Poverty is my pride. Muhammed

Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Jesus Christ

Live simply that others might simply live. Elizabeth Ann Seton

The height of sophistication is simplicity. Clare Boothe Luce

It is better to be good than to be original. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

In simplicity there is truth. River Phoenix

Simplicity is the glory of expression. Walt Whitman

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

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

Inspirational Simplicity Quotes

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

The art of art, the glory of expression and the sunshine of the light of letters, is simplicity. Walt Whitman

Fear less, hope more; Eat less, chew more; Whine less, breathe more; Talk less, say more; Love more, and all good things will be yours! Swedish Proverb

More good has been accomplished by simple people seeking their own honest ends than by all the philanthropists in history. Robert Brault

Most of what we say and do is not essential. If you can eliminate it, you’ll have more time, and more tranquility. Ask yourself at every moment, ‘Is this necessary?’. Marcus Aurelius

Find joy in simplicity, self-respect, and indifference to what lies between virtue and vice. Love the human race. Follow the divine. Marcus Aurelius

My task is to simplify and then go deeper, making a commitment to what remains. That’s what I’ve been after. To care and polish what remains till it glows and comes alive from loving care. Sue Bender

As we live and as we are, Simplicity – with a capital ‘S’ – is difficult to comprehend nowadays. We are no longer truly simple. We no longer live in simple terms or places. Life is a complex struggle now. It is now valiant to be simple: a courageous thing to even want to be simple. It is a spiritual thing to comprehend what simplicity means. Frank Lloyd Wright

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; how singular an affair he thinks he must omit. When the mathematician would solve a difficult problem, he first frees the equation of all incumbrances, and reduces it to its simplest terms. So simplify the problem of life, distinguish the necessary and the real. Probe the earth to see where your main roots run. Henry David Thoreau

The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. Robert Louis Stevenson

We can travel a long way and do many things, but our deepest happiness is not born from accumulating new experiences. It is born from letting go of what is unnecessary, and knowing ourselves to be always at home. Sharon Salzberg

I do not think that any civilization can be called complete until it has progressed from sophistication to unsophistication, and made a conscious return to simplicity of thinking and living. Lin Yutang

In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

However mean your life is, meet it and live it: do not shun it and call it hard names. Cultivate poverty like a garden herb, like sage. Do not trouble yourself much to get new things, whether clothes or friends. Things do not change, we change. Sell your clothes and keep your thoughts. Henry David Thoreau

Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind. Henry David Thoreau

Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art. Frederic Chopin

Do not beat around the bush. Do not take winding detours. Follow a straight line to the objective; simplicity is the shortest distance between two points. Bruce Lee

For the longest time, I thought I needed to be more organized. Now I know I just needed less stuff. Alysa Bajenaru

When you’re clear about your purpose and your priorities, you can painlessly discard whatever does not support these, whether it’s clutter in your cabinets or commitments on your calendar. Victoria Moran

A simple life is not seeing how little we can get by with—that’s poverty—but how efficiently we can put first things first. Victoria Moran

Enjoy the simple, the natural and the plain. Along with that comes the ability to do things spontaneously and have them work. Benjamin Hoff

True simplicity is, well, you just keep on going and going until you get to the point where you go, ‘Yeah, well, of course.’ Where there’s no rational alternative. Jonathan Ive

Simplicity is not the absence of clutter, that’s a consequence of simplicity. Simplicity is somehow essentially describing the purpose and place of an object and product. The absence of clutter is just a clutter-free product. That’s not simple. Jonathan Ive

It is simplicity that makes the uneducated more effective than the educated when addressing popular audiences. Aristotle

It is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all. Laura Ingalls Wilder

See also: Simple Living Manifesto: 72 Ideas to Simplify Your Life (zenhabits.net)

Funny And Surprising simplicity Quotes

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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 Click to tweet

Better to have spent a minute meditating than tweeting. The Mimimalists

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

A child of five could understand this. Send someone to fetch a child of five. Groucho Marx

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

Simplicity is hard to build, easy to use, and hard to charge for. Complexity is easy to build, hard to use, and easy to charge for. Chris Sacca

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

I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren’t certain we knew better. They fight for honor at the first challenge, make love with no moral restraint, and they do not for all their marvelous instincts appear to know about death. Being such wonderfully uncomplicated beings, they need us to do their worrying. George Bird Evans

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

Deep And Emotional Simplicity Quotes

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

Wherever I am, let me never forget to distinguish want from need. Barbara Kingsolver Click to tweet

Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity. Thor Heyerdahl

The truth is rarely pure and never simple. Oscar Wilde

Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry. Henry David Thoreau

It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about? Henry David Thoreau

Much of the stress that people feel doesn’t come from having too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they’ve started. Leo Babauta

Simplicity before understanding is simplistic; simplicity after understanding is simple. Edward de Bono

Every solution to every problem is simple. It’s the distance between the two where the mystery lies. Derek Landy

Everything is both simpler than we can imagine, and more complicated that we can conceive. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Our souls are hungry for meaning, for the sense that we have figured out how to live so that our lives matter. Harold Kushner

Real happiness is cheap enough, yet how dearly we pay for its counterfeit. Hosea Ballou

Simplicity is an acquired taste. Mankind, left free, instinctively complicates life. Katharine Elizabeth Fullerton Gerould

Truthfully, though, most organizing is nothing more than well-planned hoarding. Joshua Fields Millburn (The Minimalists)

The highest excellence is like water. The excellence of water appears in its benefiting all things, and in its occupying, without striving, the low place which all men dislike. Lao Tzu

Simplicity is the only thing that sufficiently reorients our lives so that possessions can be genuinely enjoyed without destroying us. Richard Foster

The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple. Psalm 119:130

Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky

See also: 10 Reasons Why a Simple Lifestyle Reduces Stress and Benefits Your Health (lifehack.org)

Wise Simplicity Quotes (Words Of Wisdom)

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The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity. Bruce Lee Click to tweet

What we need are few. What we want are many. Sheng Yen

Instead of presents, give presence. Leo Babauta

Never use a long word when a short one will do. Louisa May Alcott

I have no money, no resources, no hopes. I am the happiest man alive. Henry Miller

Maybe a person’s time would be as well spent raising food as raising money to buy food. Frank A. Clark

Knowledge is a process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification. Martin H. Fischer

I think we are in a non-essentialist bubble — everything seems important — so of course nothing is. Greg McKeown

Every time I’m doing something that is not essential, I am giving up on something that is essential. Greg McKeown

I would rather own little and see the world, than own the world and see little of it. Alexander Sattler

What a unique treasure are the things we have learned to live without, for no thief can take them from us. Robert Brault

Remember that in giving any reason at all for refusing, you lay some foundation for a future request. Arthur Helps

Don’t forget it: He has most who needs least. Don’t create needs for yourself. St. Josemaría Escrivá

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

Learning isn’t acquiring knowledge so much as it is trimming information that has already been acquired. Criss Jami

When everything is urgent, nothing is urgent. The Minimalists

Those who are wise won’t be busy, and those who are too busy can’t be wise. Lin Yutang

Forget sale price. Everything is 100% off when you don’t buy it. Joshua Fields Millburn

He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have. Socrates

The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less. Socrates

A common man marvels at uncommon things. A wise man marvels at the commonplace. Confucius

Anything that costs you your peace is too expensive. Unknown

Do not talk a little on many subjects, but much on a few. Pythagoras

More words of wisdom

Part 3. Simplicity Quotes About…

Quotes About Minimalism, Simple Living And Essentialism

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Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious and adding the meaningful. John Maeda Click to tweet

Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. Marie Kondo (The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up)

I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things in life which are the real ones after all. Laura Ingalls Wilder

Minimalism is the pathway to the better life you’ve been searching for all along. Joshua Becker (Check out What is minimalism? by becomingminimalist.com)

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it. Joshua Becker

These times are too progressive. Everything has changed too fast. Railroads and telegraphs and kerosene and coal stoves – they’re good to have but the trouble is, folks get to depend on ’em. Laura Ingalls Wilder (Think about today!)

It is desirable that a man live in all respects so simply and preparedly that if an enemy take the town… he can walk out the gate empty-handed and without anxiety. Henry David Thoreau

The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things. Epictetus

Our affluent society contains those of talent and insight who are driven to prefer poverty, to choose it, rather than submit to the desolation of an empty abundance. Michael Harrington

I like to walk about among the beautiful things that adorn the world; but private wealth I should decline, or any sort of personal possessions, because they would take away my liberty. George Santayana

The point of simple living, for me, has got to be: a soft place to land, a wide margin for error, room to breathe, lots of places to find baseline happiness in each and every day. Leo Babauta

I just naturally want to do things that make sense. In my personal life too, I don’t care what other rich people are doing. I don’t want a 405 foot boat just because someone else has a 400 foot boat. Warren Buffett

I am strongly drawn to the simple life and am often oppressed by the feeling that I am engrossing an unnecessary amount of the labor of my fellow. I regard class differences as contrary to justice and, in the last resort, based on force. I also consider that plain living is good for everybody, physically and mentally. Albert Einstein

But I deal with this meditating and by understanding I’ve been put on the planet to serve humanity. I have to remind myself to live simply and not to overindulge, which is a constant battle in a material world. Sandra Cisneros

A little simplification would be the first step toward rational living, I think. Eleanor Roosevelt Click to tweet

Essentialism is the art of discerning between external noise and internal voice. Lawton Ursrey

Essentialism: only once you give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to stop saying yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter. Greg McKeown

Frugality is one of the most beautiful and joyful words in the English language, and yet one that we are culturally cut off from understanding and enjoying. Elise Boulding

I woke up early and took the first train to take me away from the city. The noise and all its people. I was alone on the train and had no idea where I was going, and that’s why I went there. Charlotte Eriksson

I walked for a while until I found the water, the most peaceful place I know. There I sat and stayed the whole day, with nothing and everything on my mind, cleaning my head. Silence, I learned, is some times the most beautiful sound. Charlotte Eriksson

Essentialism […] It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential. Greg McKeown (See also: Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit Of Less, Amazon book)

Essentialism is not about how to get more things done, it’s about how to the get the right things done. Greg McKeown

Identify what’s most important to you. Eliminate as much as you possibly can of everything else. Mark and Angel

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. Hans Hofmann

Quotes About Simplicity, Materialism, Consumerism, Possessions

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The more we simplify our material needs the more we are free to think of other things. Eleanor Roosevelt Click to tweet

I’m not impressed by your looks, money, social status or job title. I’m impressed by the way you treat other human beings. Jim Kwik

Houses are full of things that gather dust. Jack Kerouac

The material pursuit of self-esteem reduces self-esteem. George Monbiot

Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. Democritus

Possessions are usually diminished by possession. Friedrich Nietzsche

Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you. Andre Gide

Until we have begun to go without them, we fail to realize how unnecessary many things are. We’ve been using them not because we needed them but because we had them. Seneca

Every right implies a responsibility; Every opportunity, an obligation, Every possession, a duty. John D. Rockefeller

I have to remind myself to live simply and not overindulge, which is a constant battle in a material world. Sandra Cisneros

If these things haven’t delivered on their promises yet, it may be time to let them go. Francine Jay (Miss Minimalist)

See also: The Psychology Of Materialism, And Why It’s Making You Unhappy (huffingtonpost.ca)

The modern consumerist system is designed to take your money and time away from you. Anthony Ongaro

You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. Kahlil Gibran

Material blessings, when they pay beyond the category of need, are weirdly fruitful of headache. Philip Wylie

There is no such thing as material covetousness. All covetousness is spiritual. …Any so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you want it not for itself, but because it will content your spirit for the moment. Mark Twain

I’m one of the least materialistic people that exist, because material possessions don’t mean much to me. They’re beautiful, I enjoy them, they can enhance your life to a certain degree, but they’re ultimately not important. Tom Ford (Famous fashion designer)

The consumption society has made us feel that happiness lies in having things, and has failed to teach us the happiness of not having things. Elise Boulding

We go on multiplying our conveniences only to multiply our cares. We increase our possessions only to the enlargement of our anxieties. Anna C. Brackett

Increase of material comforts, it may be generally laid down, does not in any way whatsoever conduce to moral growth. Mahatma Gandhi

The rise of social media is proving problematic. Younger age groups of children and adults are now becoming heavily absorbed in it, unaware that social media presents rose-tinted versions of life as the truth, and it’s against this fiction that they’re comparing themselves. Thibaut

It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely and nobly. Bertrand Russell

It is the logic of consumerism that undermines the values of loyalty and permanence and promotes a different set of values that is destructive of family life. Christopher Lasch

Man should not consider his material possession his own, but as common to all, so as to share them without hesitation when others are in need. Thomas Aquinas

Anything you cannot relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you, and in this materialistic age a great many of us are possessed by our possessions. Peace Pilgrim

Our greatest illusion is reliance upon the security and permanence of material possessions. We must search for some other coin. John Cudahy

The roots of addiction can be seen in our search for happiness in something outside of our self, be it drugs, relationships, material possessions. Lee L Jampolsky

Everything we possess that is not necessary for life or happiness becomes a burden, and scarcely a day passes that we do not add to it. Robert Brault

Reject the basic assumptions of civilization, especially the importance of material possessions. Chuck Palahniuk

Materialism is the only form of distraction from true bliss. Douglas Horton Click to tweet

There must be more to life than having everything. Maurice Sendak

Riches do not consist in the possession of treasures, but in the use made of them. Napoleon Bonaparte

An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit. Pliny the Elder

The wonderful things in life are the things you do, not the things you have. Reinhold Messner

The nightmare of materialism, which has turned the life of the universe into an evil, useless game, is not yet past; it holds the awakening soul still in its grip. Wassily Kandinsky

Our chief comforts often produce our greatest anxieties, and the increase in our possessions is but an inlet to new disquietudes. Oliver Goldsmith

Materialism and all its miseries can never be conquered by materialism. Swami Vivekananda

Let there be as little materialism as possible, with the maximum of spirituality. Swami Vivekananda

Quotes About Simplicity and Complexity

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The art of simplicity is a puzzle of complexity. Douglas Horton Click to tweet

Progress is in simplification, which often follows complexity. Pearl Zhu

Complexity is impressive, but simplicity is genius. Lance Wallnau

Simple pleasures are the last healthy refuge in a complex world. Oscar Wilde

Simple truths are a relief from grand speculations. Vauvenargues

Simplicity is a key to avoiding complication. Part of the definition of simplicity is ‘not complex or complicated; sincere’. Joyce Meyer

People often associate complexity with deeper meaning, when often after precious time has been lost, it is realized that simplicity is the key to everything. Gary Hopkins

People who pride themselves on their “complexity” and deride others for being “simplistic” should realize that the truth is often not very complicated. What gets complex is evading the truth. Thomas Sowell

Simplicity is a great virtue but it requires hard work to achieve it and education to appreciate it. And to make matters worse: complexity sells better. Edsger W. Dijkstra

Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves. Edwin Way Teale

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity. Charles Mingus

Avoid the superficial, penetrate the complex, go to the heart of the problem, and pinpoint the key factors. Bruce Lee

Simplicity is a most complex form. Duke Ellington

Plain question and plain answer make the shortest road out of most perplexities. Mark Twain

Complex things are easy to do. Simplicity’s the real challenge. Robert James Waller

The role of genius is not to complicate the simple, but to simplify the complicated. Criss Jami

Complexity means distracted effort. Simplicity means focused effort. Edward de Bono

Growth creates complexity, which requires simplicity. Andy Stanley

Quotes About Voluntary Simplicity

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I don’t need a lot of money. Simplicity is the answer for me. Linda McCartney Click to tweet

You might get 85 years on this planet – don’t spend 65 paying off a lifestyle you can’t afford. Cait Flanders

Ten years from now it won’t really matter what shoes you wore today, how your hair looked, or what brand of clothes you wore. What will matter is how you lived, how you loved, and what you learned along the way. Marc and Angel

Voluntary simplicity means going fewer places in one day rather than more, seeing less so I can see more, doing less so I can do more, acquiring less so I can have more. Jon Kabat-Zinn

The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane. Marcus Aurelius

None can be an impartial or wise observer of human life but from the vantage ground of what we should call voluntary poverty. Henry David Thoreau

How much time he gains who does not look to see what his neighbour says or does or thinks, but only at what he does himself, to make it just and holy. Marcus Aurelius

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. Epictetus

It would add very much to the pleasure of life and to its sanctity if we cultivated the habit of seeing what is beautiful and divine in ordinary things, though this is not easy, because our natural tendency is to think and talk most of what is extraordinary. Alfred Rowland

All goes back to the earth, and so I do not desire pride of excess or power, but the contentments made by men who have had little: the fisherman’s silence receiving the river’s grace, the gardener’s musing on rows. Wendell Berry

We really must understand that the lust for affluence in contemporary society is psychotic. It is psychotic because it has completely lost touch with reality. We crave things we neither need nor enjoy. Richard Foster

The Master said, “A true gentleman is one who has set his heart upon the Way. A fellow who is ashamed merely of shabby clothing or modest meals is not even worth conversing with”. Analects 4.9 Confucius

To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common – this is my symphony. William Henry Channing

To the Technocrats: Have mercy on us. Relax a bit, take time out for simple pleasures. For example, the luxuries of electricity, indoor plumbing, central heating, instant electronic communication and such, have taught me to relearn and enjoy the basic human satisfactions of dipping water from a cold clear mountain stream; of building a wood fire in a cast-iron stove; of using long winter nights for making music, making things, making love; of writing long letters, in longhand with a fountain pen, to the few people on this earth I truly care about. Edward Abbey

I’ve heard my teacher say, where there are machines, there are bound to be machine worries; where there are machine worries, there are bound to be machine hearts. With a machine heart in your breast, you’ve spoiled what was pure and simple; and without the pure and simple, the life of the spirit knows no rest. Zhuangzi

Poor food and water for dinner, a bent arm for a pillow – that is where joy resides. For me, wealth and renown without honor are nothing but drifting clouds. Confucius

I go about looking at horses and cattle. They eat grass, make love, work when they have to, bear their young. I am sick with envy of them. Sherwood Anderson

I think we’ve been oversold the value of more and undersold the value of less. Greg McKeown

Teach us delight in simple things, and mirth that has no bitter springs. Rudyard Kipling

See also: How to Simplify Your Life With Voluntary Simplicity – Benefits & Challenges

Quotes About Simplicity, Humility, Kindness

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Pride divides the men, humility joins them. Socrates Click to tweet

Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real. Thomas Merton

A great man is always willing to be little. Ralph Waldo Emerson

True humility is contentment. Henri Frederic Amiel

Be silent as to services you have rendered, but speak of favours you have received. Seneca

The higher we are placed, the more humbly we should walk. Marcus Tullius Cicero

No truly great person ever thought themselves so. William Hazlitt

Serenity, regularity, absence of vanity, sincerity, simplicity, veracity, equanimity, Fixity, non-irritability, adaptability, Humility, tenacity, integrity, nobility, magnanimity, charity, generosity, purity. Practise daily these eighteen “ities” You will soon attain immortality. Socrates

My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind. Albert Einstein

He that places himself neither higher nor lower than he ought to do exercises the truest humility. Charles Caleb Colton

Be modest, humble, simple. Control your anger. Abraham Cahan

Forget popularity. Just do your thing with passion, humility and honesty. Marc and Angel

I believe the first test of a truly great man is in his humility. John Ruskin Click to tweet

The only way you will advance spiritually is through humility. Frederick Lenz

When there’s nothing but humility, there’s nothing but spiritual oneness. Frederick Lenz

Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right. Ezra Taft Benson

Learn to laugh at yourselves as one must laugh! Friedrich Nietzsche

Greatness of spirit is accompanied by simplicity and sincerity. Aristotle

Related quotes and topics: kindness, humility, honesty

Quotes About Simplicity, Design, Architecture

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Think 8 hours, work 2 hours. Mirko Ilic Click to tweet

Design means being good, not just looking good. Clement Mok

We adore chaos because we love to produce order. M. C. Escher

Simple is hard. Easy is harder. Invisible is hardest. Jean-Louis Gassée

Order and simplification are the first steps toward the mastery of a subject. Thomas Mann

Clutter and confusion are failures of design, not attributes of information. Edward Tufte

Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations. Paul Rand

In order to be a good gatekeeper, you have to think of your house as sacred space, not storage space. Francine Jay (Miss Minimalist)

The problem: we put more value on our stuff than on our space. Francine Jay (Miss Minimalist)

I live lightly and gracefully, with only the objects I find functional or beautiful. Francine Jay (Miss Minimalist)

Rather than cluttering up your home, stealing your time, and draining your wallet, the stuff in your life should serve a purpose and make you happy. If that isn’t the case, then your stuff owns you. Tammy Strobel

Almost all quality improvement comes via simplification of design, manufacturing, layout, processes, and procedures. Tom Peters

We must have order, allocating to each thing its proper place and giving to each thing is due according to its nature. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

The architect should strive continually to simplify; the ensemble of the rooms should then be carefully considered that comfort and utility may go hand in hand with beauty. Bruce Lee

A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful. William Morris

One can furnish a room very luxuriously by taking out furniture rather than putting it in. Francis Jourdain

Design is the conscious effort to impose a meaningful order. Victor Papanek Click to tweet

I feel that my environment reflects my belief in the grace and art and elegance of living simply. bell hooks

Architecture has the power to create order out of unholy confusion. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Less is more. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

Good design means as little design as possible. Dieter Rams

Quotes About Simplicity, Beauty, Elegance, Style

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Elegance is refusal. Coco Chanel Click to tweet

Simplicity, carried to an an extreme, becomes elegance. Jon Franklin

Only great minds can afford a simple style. Stendhal

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it. Confucius

To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don’t need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. Thich Nhat Hanh

Beauty of style and harmony and grace and good rhythm depend on simplicity. Plato

Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them. Marcus Aurelius

Sometimes people are beautiful, not in looks, not in what they say, just in what they are. Markus Zusak

Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy. Anne Frank

Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old. Franz Kafka

True elegance for me is the manifestation of an independent mind. Isabella Rossellini

Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful. Thich Nhat Hanh

We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do. Mother Teresa

Elegance is achieved when all that is superfluous has been discarded and the human being discovers simplicity and concentration: the simpler and more sober the posture, the more beautiful it will be. Paulo Coelho

Elegance is elimination. Cristobal Balenciaga Click to tweet

Peace is the beauty of life. It is sunshine. It is the smile of a child, the love of a mother, the joy of a father, the togetherness of a family. It is the advancement of man, the victory of a just cause, the triumph of truth. Menachem Begin

Adornment, what a science! Beauty, what a weapon! Modesty, what elegance! Coco Chanel

Elegance means appreciating things as they are. There is a sense of delight and of fearlessness. Chogyam Trungpa

I think happiness is what makes you pretty. Period. Happy people are beautiful. They become like a mirror and they reflect that happiness. Drew Barrymore

The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed — it is a process of elimination. Elbert Hubbard

A person with taste is merely one who can recognize the greatest beauty in the simplest things. Barbara Taylor Bradford

You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful. Amy Bloom

Real elegance is simply a true encounter with oneself. Carole Bouquet

Beauty is power; a smile is its sword. John Ray

There is beauty, heartbreaking beauty, everywhere. Edward Abbey

Part 4. The Best Simplicity Quotes From The Best Minimalism Blogs

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True contentment is not about acquiring more, but being satisfied with greater simplicity and fulfilled by what you already have. Carley Hauck https://www.mindful.org

Slowly cut things out until you’re left only with what you love, with what’s necessary, with what makes you happy. Leo Babauta https://zenhabits.net/

The first step in crafting a life you want is to get rid of everything you don’t. Joshua Becker https://www.becomingminimalist.com/

Imagine a life with less. Less stuff, less clutter, less stress and debt and discontent. Ryan Nicodemus https://www.theminimalists.com/nicodemus/

Forget sale price. Everything is 100% off when you don’t buy it. Joshua Fields Millburn https://www.theminimalists.com/millburn/

If you don’t have time to do what matters, stop doing things that don’t. Courtney Carver https://bemorewithless.com/

More was never the answer. The answer, it turned out, was always less. Cait Flanders https://caitflanders.com/

Slow down. You move too fast. Jacki Hollywood Brown https://unclutterer.com/

If we don’t know what to get each other for gifts – maybe we shouldn’t exchange gifts? Rachel http://www.theminimalistmom.com

“No” is a complete sentence. Anne Lamott (wisdomquotes.com loves this one 🙂 ) https://twitter.com/annelamott https://www.facebook.com/AnneLamott/

Simple living doesn’t solve all my problems, it just removes distractions. Melissa Camara Wilkins https://melissacamarawilkins.com

Without grace, minimalism is another metric for perfection. Erin Loechner http://designformankind.com/

When life is crazy, it’s time to empty your plate. Alysa Bajenaru http://inspiredrd.com/

At some point I realized that I wasn’t organizing my life; I was organizing my clutter. Francine Jay http://www.missminimalist.com/

When things get tough, come back to the simple. Practising Simplicity http://www.practisingsimplicity.com/

By becoming a little more present and mindful you’ll probably make less mistakes, and feel less stressed out too. The Mindfulness Project https://www.londonmindful.com/blog

Shedding unnecessary stuff and commitments will free up space in your life for abundance of the best kind. Evelyn http://smallishblog.com

We gave away most of our belongings. Interestingly, the more we gave away, the better we felt. Tammy Strobel, https://www.rowdykittens.com/

The more intentional you are in your choices, the more every change makes room for more changes I just love that there’s this endless potential. Dee Williams, https://padtinyhouses.com/dee-williams/

The things you wear don’t make you beautiful; they accentuate the beauty that’s already there. Colin Wright, http://exilelifestyle.com/

99 percent of what stressed you out today won’t matter a month from now. Marc and Angel http://www.marcandangel.com/

You need time to think, time to dream, time to talk and time to do nothing at all. Brooke McAlary https://slowyourhome.com/

Intentional living and spending leads to more money and freedom. Anthony Ongaro https://www.breakthetwitch.com/

Part 5. Conclusion

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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 Click to tweet

Call to action: Read Living the Simple Life? (zenhabits.net)