Sunday, February 19, 2012

Gratitude for the K.I.S.S.

Gratitude for the K.I.S.S.


I think it was about forty years ago, when I first heard this acronym.  It was at a seminar conducted by Terry Cole-Whittaker.  

The KISS Principle was a design principle articulated by Kelly Johnson.
 
Variants from Wikipedia:   The principle most likely finds its origins in similar concepts, such as Occam's razor, and Albert Einstein's maxim that "everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler".  Leonardo da Vinci's "Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication", or Antoine de Saint ExupĂ©ry's "It seems that perfection is reached not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away".
 
K = Keep
I = It
S = Simple
S = Stupid

A good reminder, which I often forget.  I am inclined to complicate things, without intending to do so.  Being detail-minded is a good quality, but I tend to push it a bit too far sometimes.  When writing, I’m often verbose.  In my poetry, I digress, going off on a tangent, compounding the words, resembling an almost novel-length piece of work, instead of a creative sonnet. Sometimes I don’t talk, but rather ramble, on and on and on and on.  I sense the annoyance of that, when my family breathes sighs of boredom.


My boss would remind me to keep it simple, when writing emails.  But, I’d think it was necessary to include all those extra details in order to get the point across to the reader.  Maybe that’s true sometimes, but not usually; and definitely not to the extent I carried it.


I’m writing about this now, as a reminder for me to focus on transforming my complexity into simplicity; and my accumulation into minimalism.



But, how does one undertake this task, after sixty-four years filled with the obstacles of complication and obscurity?  I honestly do not know.  But, what I do know is that it’s never too late for learning a new concept.


Even now, as I write, this would be a good place to end, maintaining brevity.  But, my inner voice tells me to keep my fingers moving on the keyboard, as random thoughts swirl around in my head.
 

For now, I’m telling my inner voice to be silent, while I attempt to KEEP IT SIMPLE.


Lesson one, in this challenge to consolidate my words into simplicity, is to conclude this chapter immediately, without another thought.

THE END ………………………….  for now anyway


Biting my tongue, sitting on my hands, closing my eyes, holding my breath…..




GRATEFUL for the courage to challenge and defy my inner voice

GRATITUDE for the K.I.S.S.



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