Sunday Sharies 01.09.22

A QUOTE

“To attain knowledge, add things every day. To attain wisdom, remove things every day.”

– Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher

A QUESTION

What’s the best decision you ever made that involved NOT doing something?

A THOUGHT

We have a bias against subtraction. We’re more likely to try to fix things by adding to them rather than by removing from them. People are commended (and compensated) for having made something better, not for having made it less worse. This helps explain the sluggish shift from reactive to proactive healthcare in America, our willingness to pay for marginal iPhone upgrades, and why we spend billions of dollars a year on dietary supplements we don’t need. When there is no evidence for successfully stopping something and no reward for preventing a negative outcome, it takes more cognitive effort to find a reason to reduce.

Instead of focusing on what to bring in, consider elements of your weekly architecture you can take out. What habit no longer brings you joy? What do you assume you need that you would be perfectly fine without?

A few things I’m trying:

  • Reduce the amount of meat I eat

  • Remove unnecessary clothes from my closet

  • Minimize negative thoughts said aloud

Subtractive changes can lead to better outcomes - don't forget to explore solutions that call for less instead of more.

Siena Hickey