I think we miss out on a lot of wisdom by dismissing ideas that are extreme or that don’t work for us without adapting them.

Extreme Minimalism

I listened to a book by an extreme minimalist who got rid of almost all his stuff and lives in a ~200 sq. ft. apartment.

Am I going to do that? No.

Are his ideas extreme? Many of them.

Am I going to implement his ideas like he did? No.

Did I still learn from him? Yes.

Did I apply some of those lessons to my life? Yes.

A Question

“I don’t agree with ____, but is there still a lesson to be learned here? Is there a principle to apply or a question to ask?”

Principles and questions tend to apply to me even if the author’s specific recommendations don’t.

Next time you hear a piece of advice that “doesn’t apply to you”, consider how you might adapt it to fit your life (or not). Not every piece of advice contains a nugget of truth buried inside, but  we should consider whether there might be something below the surface.

Josh