Tiny Wisdom: When Less Is More

“Don’t use a lot where a little will do.” -Proverb

I recently saw a reality show about reviving struggling restaurants. The premise is that an expert comes in to help save a family business and in the process helps the owners rebuild their relationships and their lives.

In the beginning, the expert suggested the family reduce their menu from multiple pages to just one. They originally created a massive list of selections because they assumed this created more value. In all reality, it was overwhelming.

In many instances, less is more.

This is a big part of the philosophy behind Tiny Buddha. I publish one post from the community every day, which allows me to spend a great deal of time with writers.

Conventional wisdom of the web suggests that more content leads to more page views, which ultimately creates a successful site. Yet I’ve found the opposite can be true.

Having a lower quantity allows more time to focus on quality and also allows more time for connection through comments. In this way, it’s not about building a large community; it’s about fostering an engaged one. As far as I’m concerned, there’s no greater success than that.

Regardless of your project or dream, the “less is more” philosophy can go a long way in creating value and enabling progress.

You may not have a large number of hours to commit, but this means you have an incentive to prioritize your goals, and that just may help you focus and become optimally effective.

You may not have abundant resources, but this means your passion and purpose may be your greatest assets, and there’s no limit to what you can accomplish when you invest yourself in a vision that moves and inspires you.

You may not have countless readers or customers, but this means you can focus on providing exceptional service, which can be far more valuable than dozens of cursory connections and standard experiences.

Most importantly, when we focus on doing less and doing it well, instead of doing more and assuming it’s better, we’re less scattered, more deliberate, less harried, and more present.

And really, isn’t that what we want? It’s not just the goals and the outcomes we visualize; it’s the happiness and satisfaction we imagine we’ll experience when we get there.

It may be the biggest advantage to doing less: we create more space to enjoy those things now.

Photo by saebaryo

About Lori Deschene

Lori Deschene is the founder of Tiny Buddha. She started the site after struggling with depression, bulimia, c-PTSD, and toxic shame so she could recycle her former pain into something useful and inspire others do the same. She recently created the Breaking Barriers to Self-Care eCourse to help people overcome internal blocks to meeting their needs—so they can feel their best, be their best, and live their best possible life. If you’re ready to start thriving instead of merely surviving, you can learn more and get instant access here.

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