"時間がないので、いつもより長い手紙を書きました。"

This quote highlights the idea that brevity often requires more effort and thought than verbosity. It’s about the challenge of stripping away the unnecessary to distill your message down to its essence. Think about it this way: rambling on can be easy, but crafting a concise, clear statement takes skill and time.

Historically, this sentiment has been echoed by many influential figures. Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician and philosopher, included a version of this idea in his "Lettres Provinciales" in the 17th century. Mark Twain and others have similar quotes attributed to them, too. The core idea remains the same—concision is hard work.

Picture this: you’re working on a presentation for your team at work. You’ve got loads of ideas, and you’re passionate about them. Initially, you might jot down everything that comes to mind—pages and pages of notes and slides. But now, imagine having to present all that in a 5-minute pitch. That’s where the real effort comes in. You need to sift through your notes, find the gold, and carve away the excess until what remains is pure, impactful content.

Here's some practical advice: next time you’re drafting an email, report, or presentation, start by getting all your thoughts down. Don’t worry about length initially. Once you’ve got everything out, take a step back. Then, go through what you’ve written and ask yourself: What’s my main point? What can I cut without losing the essence? It might feel counterintuitive, but this trimming process is where the clarity emerges.

Let’s relate this to a common scenario. Imagine you’re in high school and you’ve got to write a personal statement for college applications. You sit down and pour your heart out—three pages of your life story. But you realize the word limit is 500. What do you do? Start by identifying the moments that truly define you. Maybe it’s the summer you spent volunteering, the challenge you overcame in your sophomore year, or the project that sparked your passion. Focus on those highlights. You’ll likely find that the more you refine and condense, the stronger your message becomes.

Think about conversations with friends. Ever notice how the best stories are often the shortest? You don’t need every single detail to convey your point. You just need the right ones.

So, next time you’re tempted to keep writing to make sure you cover everything, remember: less can be more. Take the time to revise and edit. It might feel like extra work, but it’s worth it. Your readers (or listeners) will thank you for it. And you’ll become a better communicator in the process.

In the end, it’s about respect—for your audience’s time and your message’s integrity. Making things shorter isn’t about cutting corners. It’s about honing in on what truly matters and delivering it in a way that sticks.