---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Simplicity is the first cousin of…"
description: "\"Simplicity is the first cousin of contentment.\" — John Stott"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/john-stott-1926_contentment_simplicity-is-the-first-cousin-of-conten_3024754.png"
---

#  Simplicity is the first cousin of contentment.

![“Simplicity is the first cousin of contentment.” quote by John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/john-stott-1926_contentment_simplicity-is-the-first-cousin-of-conten_3024754.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/john-stott-1926_contentment_simplicity-is-the-first-cousin-of-conten_3024754.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/john-stott-1926_contentment_simplicity-is-the-first-cousin-of-conten_3024754.png)

> “Simplicity is the first cousin of contentment.”

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Simplicity leads to contentment, reducing desire for excess.

**In simple terms:** Simplicity breeds contentment.

Key Takeaway

Embrace simple living for peace.

Themes

simplicity contentment minimalism

Mood

calm reflective

Type

philosophical motivational

When to use this quote

- home organization
- digital declutter
- financial budgeting

Key Concepts

mindfulness material detachment

Questions to Reflect On

- What simple habit could you start?
- How does minimalism affect happiness?

A Different Perspective

Simplicity may be challenging in consumerist societies.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/) [Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cousin/) [Cousin Contentment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cousin-contentment-4913732/) [First Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-cousin/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Simplicity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity/) [Simplicity Cousin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simplicity-cousin-4913731/)

## Related quotes

> [Optimism is the first cousin of love, and it's exactly like love in three ways: it's pushy, it has no real sense of humour,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-david-roberts/optimism-is-the-first-cousin-of-love-and-it-s-exactly-like-love-in/)

[Gregory David Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-david-roberts/)

> [“We’re distant cousins. He’s my first cousin, but he’s 5,000 miles away. And he doesn’t talk much.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/we-re-distant-cousins-he-s-my-first-cousin-but-he-s-5-000-miles-away/)

[Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/)

> [“There was a happy irony in the first cousin of the autocratic Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II (with whom George bore a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ham/there-was-a-happy-irony-in-the-first-cousin-of-the-autocratic-kaiser/)

[Paul Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ham/)

> [“With no other choice, I'd submitted to the will of our prophet and had married my nineteen-year-old first cousin.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elissa-wall/with-no-other-choice-i-d-submitted-to-the-will-of-our-prophet-and-had/)

[Elissa Wall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elissa-wall/)

> [“One of the reasons for his drinking, Henry said, was John's mama used to make the whole family get down on their knees and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-kesey/one-of-the-reasons-for-his-drinking-henry-said-was-john-s-mama-used/)

[Ken Kesey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-kesey/)

> [“Marrying cousins was astoundingly common into the nineteenth century, and nowhere is this better illustrated than with the Darwins and their cousins the Wedgwoods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/marrying-cousins-was-astoundingly-common-into-the-nineteenth-century/)

[Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/)

> [“Creative exhaustion is first cousin to writer’s block. First off, I try to accept that when it hits, I am not wasting time, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-isle/creative-exhaustion-is-first-cousin-to-writer-s-block-first-off-i-try/)

[Sue Isle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-isle/)

> [Overdressing is the first cousin of trying too hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-karbo/overdressing-is-the-first-cousin-of-trying-too-hard/)

[Karen Karbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-karbo/)

> [“You can not figure out love without figuring out death, too, but the effort it takes can knock the wind out of you. Love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-baxter/you-can-not-figure-out-love-without-figuring-out-death-too-but-the/)

[Charles Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-baxter/)

> [“There was a silly damn bird called a phoenix back before Christ, every few hundred years he built a pyre and burnt himself up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/there-was-a-silly-damn-bird-called-a-phoenix-back-before-christ-every/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [“This history sets forth the only true account of the adventures of a daring Tipperary man named Darby O’Gill among the Fairies of Sleive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herminie-templeton-kavanagh/this-history-sets-forth-the-only-true-account-of-the-adventures-of-a/)

[Herminie Templeton Kavanagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herminie-templeton-kavanagh/)

> [“We’re like rednecks then, zaydeh.” “What are you talking about? I was educated well. I know six languages. I manage the family investment portfolio.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-rojstaczer/we-re-like-rednecks-then-zaydeh-what-are-you-talking-about-i-was/)

[Stuart Rojstaczer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-rojstaczer/)

> [“paranoia, the first cousin of a bastard named fear”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/paranoia-the-first-cousin-of-a-bastard-named-fear/)

[Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/)

> [“Growing up in a family of gamblers, daredevils and practical jokers, I've learned a lot about timing and its first cousin, dumb luck, concepts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-speed/growing-up-in-a-family-of-gamblers-daredevils-and-practical-jokers-i/)

[Toby Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-speed/)

> [“Who are you in love with?" I said then. For a minute Marco didn't say anything, he simply opened his mouth and breathed out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/who-are-you-in-love-with-i-said-then-for-a-minute-marco-didn-t-say/)

[Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/)

## More by John Stott

> [Prayer is not a convenient device for imposing our will upon God, or bending his will to ours, but the prescribed way of subordinating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/prayer-is-not-a-convenient-device-for-imposing-our-will-upon-god-or/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [Mission arises from the heart of God Himself and is communicated from His heart to ours. Mission is the global outreach of the global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/mission-arises-from-the-heart-of-god-himself-and-is-communicated-from/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [ \[Christian rebellion\] arises from the doctrine of mankind made in the image of God, and therefore protests against all forms of dehumanization. It sets… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/christian-rebellion-arises-from-the-doctrine-of-mankind-made-in-the/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [All of us have inflated views of ourselves, especially in self-righteousn ess, until we have visited a place called Calvary. It is there, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/all-of-us-have-inflated-views-of-ourselves-especially-in-self/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [A deaf church is a dead church: that is an unalterable principle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/a-deaf-church-is-a-dead-church-that-is-an-unalterable-principle/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [So there is such a thing as perfect hatred, just as there is such a thing as righteous anger. But it is a hatred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/so-there-is-such-a-thing-as-perfect-hatred-just-as-there-is-such-a/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [The reason I am a Christian is not that it is nice, but that it is true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/the-reason-i-am-a-christian-is-not-that-it-is-nice-but-that-it-is-true/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [“Unless some people are commissioned for the task, there will be no gospel preachers; unless the gospel is preached, sinners will not hear Christ’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/unless-some-people-are-commissioned-for-the-task-there-will-be-no/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [“many former sins have become crimes’, so that responsibility for dealing with them has passed from church to state, from priest to policeman (p.50),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/many-former-sins-have-become-crimes-so-that-responsibility-for/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [When we look at the cross we see the justice, love, wisdom and power of God. It is not easy to decide which is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/when-we-look-at-the-cross-we-see-the-justice-love-wisdom-and-power-of/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [If God speaks to us about himself and his own glorious greatness, we respond by humbling ourselves before him in worship... If He speaks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/if-god-speaks-to-us-about-himself-and-his-own-glorious-greatness-we/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [There is something inherently inappropriate about cherishing small ambitions for God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/there-is-something-inherently-inappropriate-about-cherishing-small/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [Every powerful movement has had its philosophy which has gripped the mind, fired the imagination and captured the devotion of its adherents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/every-powerful-movement-has-had-its-philosophy-which-has-gripped-the/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [“A guilty conscience is a great blessing, but only if it drives us to come home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/a-guilty-conscience-is-a-great-blessing-but-only-if-it-drives-us-to/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

> [The concept of substitution lies at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/the-concept-of-substitution-lies-at-the-heart-of-both-sin-and/)

[John Stott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

[Explore all 198 John Stott quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/)

## More Contentment quotes

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [I may not have everything I want in life but I have all I will ever need to make my life complete, my family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-may-not-have-everything-i-want-in-life-but-i-have-all-i-will-ever/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If you can find as much happiness at the bottom of the ladder of success as you can at the top, then you understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-krause/if-you-can-find-as-much-happiness-at-the-bottom-of-the-ladder-of/)

[Tom Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-krause/)

> [There are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other with habits of indolence. The first is a virtue; the other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-edgeworth/there-are-two-sorts-of-content-one-is-connected-with-exertion-the/)

[Maria Edgeworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-edgeworth/)

> [“When we perform at our highest level of potential, we are content. Because we have given I best in what we enjoy doing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-j-barrier/when-we-perform-at-our-highest-level-of-potential-we-are-content/)

[Ellen J. Barrier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-j-barrier/)

> [Money is made at Christmas out of holly and mistletoe, but who save the vendors would greatly care if no green branch were procurable?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/money-is-made-at-christmas-out-of-holly-and-mistletoe-but-who-save/)

[George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/)

> [My crown is in my heart, not on my head; not decked with diamonds and Indian stones, nor to be seen: my crown is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/my-crown-is-in-my-heart-not-on-my-head-not-decked-with-diamonds-and/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [Most of us are not content with our lot because we want a lot more](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianette-carbito/most-of-us-are-not-content-with-our-lot-because-we-want-a-lot-more/)

[Marianette Carbito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianette-carbito/)

> [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/)

[Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/)

> [Every human always wants more. We're never satisfied. True happiness doesn't come until we're fully satisfied with what we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-human-always-wants-more-we-re-never-satisfied-true-happiness/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“I was so nearly happy. There remained only a tiny something, something unexplained and inexplicable that buzzed in my ear when the lights were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennie-rooney/i-was-so-nearly-happy-there-remained-only-a-tiny-something-something/)

[Jennie Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennie-rooney/)

> [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/)

[Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/)

> [One often learns more from ten days of agony than ten years of contentment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merle-shain/one-often-learns-more-from-ten-days-of-agony-than-ten-years-of/)

[Merle Shain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merle-shain/)

> [Stop complaining and start accepting, everything happens for a reason, you may not notice the importance of the things that you have now, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemantsmarty/stop-complaining-and-start-accepting-everything-happens-for-a-reason/)

[Hemantsmarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemantsmarty/)

> [True intimacy is the experience of real acceptance and authentic vulnerability without feeling the need to apologize or fear rejection. The freedom to just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-blake-michiels/true-intimacy-is-the-experience-of-real-acceptance-and-authentic/)

[Jordan Blake Michiels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-blake-michiels/)

[Browse all 1,355 Contentment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contentment/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Simplicity is the first cousin of contentment.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Stott"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/simplicity-is-the-first-cousin-of-contentment/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Contentment"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/simplicity-is-the-first-cousin-of-contentment/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/john-stott-1926_contentment_simplicity-is-the-first-cousin-of-conten_3024754.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/john-stott-1926_contentment_simplicity-is-the-first-cousin-of-conten_3024754.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/john-stott-1926_contentment_simplicity-is-the-first-cousin-of-conten_3024754.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Simplicity is the first cousin of contentment.” — John Stott",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "John Stott",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stott/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Simplicity is the first cousin of...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/simplicity-is-the-first-cousin-of-contentment/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stott/simplicity-is-the-first-cousin-of-contentment/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
