What we do, we do consciously and we do well

Article by Pim Buijs

My last column, around the topic of indigenous practices, was about the Netherlands itself as an indigenous practice: ‘God created the world, and the Dutch created the Netherlands. Even though the Dutch are well known for their Calvinistic spirit, the Netherlands has had an enormous impact on the world. Without the combination of hard, honest work and daring to dream, the Netherlands would not be what it is today. However, it seems like problems in the Netherlands keep getting bigger and bigger. The large amount of crises the country is facing, war within and close to Europe, a changing climate and ever increasing life-expenses make living in the Netherlands increasingly more difficult. Add to this a change in political climate, and you have a recipe for disaster. But problems such as poverty, war and weather extremes are no strange things within the history of the Netherlands and the broader human condition. The people that created its own country should be able to deal with all these challenges, right?

Figure 1: a statue carving itself, an embodiment of the idea that we can shape the world. Source: Man sculpting himself - Awesome (pinterest.com)

As a Dutch person, I hope the answer is yes. But there are plenty of complicating factors that make this difficult. Aside from the size of the crises of our time, the complexity and their interconnectivity is what makes it increasingly difficult to deal with. We do this with the idea that we can shape the world, thinking of solutions and executing these. Sometimes you cause more problems than you solve by attempting to solve something. Aside from this, we live a time where our means are becoming more scarce. A lot of companies, and the government as well, will have to decrease their expenses. Similar to Dutch people with limited means. Furthermore, the amount of skilled workers who can think of proper solutions and execute them is decreasing. In a country with an old population and a shrinking labour market, skilled workers will be worth their weight in gold. The third complicating factor is the ‘abundance of ambition’. In our society, we want things to be sustainable, circular, inclusive, ethical, aesthetic and preferably cheap. When this can’t be done, we quickly start talking about shortages. The question is if we have to little, or want too much?

In short: complex and interconnected problems, a shortage of means and sky-high ambitions. You could call it the unholy trinity. The natural reflex is to think about what we could do. Minimalism offers an interesting perspective on this. Minimalism is a pure and simple way to approach life, where keeping that of value and letting go of that is not is the central idea. This does not only count for what we own, but also for what we do. Solutions often mean doing more things, rarely does it lead to doing things less or stopping them altogether. This last point is very crucial in a time where means are limited and the urgency to act is high. We often keep problems alive by unnecessarily involving ourselves in structures and systems. Sometimes it is about the art of letting go and letting nature, culture or the market run its course. You only realize when you are part of the problem once you stop trying to solve it.

Figure 2: Minimalism and maximalism visualised. Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/are-you-using-the-terms-minimalist-and-maximalist-correctly-11568301910

As good as this sounds, the minimalist spirit will not save the world on its own. Without grand ideas and actions, the Dutch could have never made the Netherlands. Even though doing less or stopping can be a great solution, structural change is needed for the problems of our age. Think about the great land consolidations (or ruilverkaveling in Dutch) and Ruimte voor de Rivier (space for the river). Both of these where structural change in systems that had a substantial impact in all of our lives. Without the maximalist spirit, consisting of grand thoughts, strengthening what works, innovating and making choices, the Netherlands would still be a glorified swamp. Without a vision, and the willpower to execute it, you will not get far.

Even though minimalism and maximalism seem to be polar opposites, I am of the opinion that they are a powerful combination. Take the purity of minimalism and the daring of maximalism, and impact will be the result. Impact is exactly what we need to deal with complex and interconnected problems in times of scarcity. This impact is limited by a modern problem: the abundance of ambition. We want to much, which leads to our scarce resources being spread too thin. This is not minimalism, as you are doing a lot of things at the same time. But it is also not maximialism as you do not have enough means to make an impact with every thing you are doing. The abundance of ambition leads to a diffusion and clouding of our impact.

To regain impact, we need minimalism and maximalism. Minimalism helps us to stop with what does not work and to make our ambitions realistic. Maximalism helps us to focus through making conscious choices in where we use our limited means. As rational beings, we tend to overuse our problem-solution reflex, without asking ourselves if acting is even necessary. The first thing what we do is more, instead of less or acting in a focused manner. The motto should be: ‘What we do, we do consciously and we do well’. This is a motto that allows for change. Because change is achieved through impact.