I’ve only read one title by Alain de Botton but his philosophy has already made a major impact on my approach to life. I look forward to reading more of his works in the very near future.

I recently found a great video and highly recommend it to anyone that wants to learn more about what’s making us all tick these days.

Whilst in Samui, I met a man from Somerset in England. He like most Englishmen I’ve met despises London, “a whole lot of people running around from place to place but not getting anything done.”

He told me of a Somerset saying: “If you can’t get it done today, then do it tomorrow. If you can’t do it tomorrow, do it the next day. If you die in the meantime then someone else can do it. So, why worry?”

I like that.

In the previous post I discussed how the Thais seem to have the life/balance thing pretty much sorted out. Yes, I know that many Thais have a tough life (so do many Aussies, Kiwis etc.).

Ko Samui sunrise

I think my main learnings from my recent fortnight in Samui was regarding simplicity and frustration.

One of the books I read whilst relaxing on the beach was The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton. In this book de Botton illustrates how the works of Epicurus, Montaigne, Nietzsche, Schopenhauer, Seneca, and Socrates can help us deal with the trials and tribulations of our lives. One chapter deals with frustration (Seneca) and how it generally stems from over-expectation. By expecting too much from life and from those around us, we set ourselves up for frustration. This was an epiphany for me (yet completely obvious at the same time). I’m now trying to apply this to my life.

Outside the world of books, I revisited my “keep it simple” philosophy by watching and learning from the locals. (I touched on this in the previous post.) I contend that it is the clutter and complexity of our lives that is the root of our troubles (mine included). When you remove the complexity (on a beach in Thailand) you sleep better, get more done, relax, enjoy…

Too often we struggle through life without direction or with outrageous expectations and thus feel lost, unloved and jaded. I am developing a personal philosophy that is based upon simplicity and clarity in the hope that my frustrations will diminish and I will be content and therefore happy as I grow older.