It’s complicated

“It’s complicated…” That has to be one of the most famous expressions nowadays.

Of course life is complicated and it is our responsibility to put clarity and simplicity into it.

I am not naive. You and I may have been collateral damage because of other people’s wrong decisions. And many source of life’s complications today arise out of wrong values and faulty parenting.

I once posted this message on my Facebook Page not knowing that it would become one of the most shared posts, eliciting hundreds of comments and earning more than 7,000 likes.

The post said: “Many people live dysfunctional lives today because they either are still trying to live up to their parent’s expectations, or are still trying to prove their parents wrong. There were many disagreements, but they were low in percentage to those who agreed with the post. And so people or circumstances that were beyond our control may have complicated our lives. And in many cases, we live in complicated situations because of self-inflicted damages, and then life becomes so difficult.

As we all know, there are a lot of creepy people on FB, and there was this guy who kept on attacking me even though I personally do not know him at all. Naturally, I had to tolerate him for the sake of free speech. This person though upped his ploy and began sending comments to others who commented on my posts, complicating the situation.

I welcome dissenting opinions and disagreements, but when a certain person starts annoying others, I ban them. Even something as simple as a social network, which is meant to help people connect, is complicated by people who use it for their own warped way of thinking.

Basically, things do not start out as complicated; occasionally, we just complicate them. 

Let me give you some examples: We are employed. We have a decent job. The simplest thing we have to do is to work hard, do our best and enjoy the fruit of our labor. Bring home the bacon. Love the family. Engage in personal growth and work for promotions.

And then life gets complicated. Many of which is self-inflicted.

When we lie or allow our ego to take over rather than simply inspire our people to tap into their potential and deliver creative work, we complicate things. When we enter into illicit relationships or enrich ourselves at the expense of others, we make life far more complicated than it actually is.

Problems increase. Conflicts multiply. Feelings get hurt. Trust is betrayed. And when the question is asked: “So how is life treating you?” Guess what the response is? “It’s complicated.”

It doesn’t have to be.

There are many people I know who are in this bind. One “once famous” speaker told me, “Francis you just do not know my situation, it is so complicated and it is like a ball of yarn that is so entangled you won’t know how to fix it.”

I remember looking him straight in his eyes and said, “So what? If you are willing and if you are determined and with God’s help, you can remove the entanglement one strand at a time.”

Maybe I am too idealistic, but I have had a lot of stupid entanglements in my life before, but by the grace of God, today everything has been fixed and simplicity and peace has replaced complications and anxiety.

Life actually is simple.

Love God. Love your neighbors.

Simplicity is key to productivity and productivity always entails elimination, not addition.

Live a simple life. Get away from entanglements and enjoy life to the fullest.

(Attend “Stand Out for Outstanding Performance” will be held on Sept. 9 at the Metro Tent inside Metro Walk along Ortigas Blvd. Be inspired and learn from speakers Chinkee Tan, Bryan Kong and Karen Davila as they share principles on how to become great achievers. For further inquiries contact Inspire at 09158055910 or call 632-6310912 or 6310660 for details)