As Einstein said, “Everything must be made as simple as possible. But not any simpler.”

Simplicity is of course an excellent thing to strive for, especially where it concerns marooned lives of people stranded at home with burn-out or depression. How can such people be helped make their way back from the margins of existence to play their part fully, in as fast, spruce and sustainable a way possible?

Chimamanda Adichie’s presentation ‘The Danger of Single Story’ has become one of the 20 most viewed TED talks. In it she warns of the dangers of over-simplification. It makes me think of our hunger for instant fixes and the desire to achieve this by effortless consumption.

Watching the video, I’m reminded of how our tweeting culture of one-liners flattens the human experience. If we are truly interested in achieving flourishing lives, the Human Givens approach to well-being offers a real way forward. It maintains the required balance between an understanding of and respect for the intricate nature of the human existence with clear, easily applied skills.

Taken from the blog Live to Flourish by Renée van der Vloodt for coaches and therapists