Easy Ways to Improve Your Life by Subtraction

By
Think about the last time you wanted to make a change in your life.  How did you begin?  If you're anything like me, you may have started by thinking about what to add.

  • I want to be better informed.  Maybe I need to subscribe to that news service, keep up with social media, and check in with that news channel throughout the day.
  • I want my house to look better.  I should buy a new sofa to replace my old one, and upgrade the kitchen with new flooring and countertops.
  • I want to improve my health.  I need to sign up with a personal trainer, and I should probably add the latest super foods to my diet or invest in some supplements.


See what I mean?  The first step for most of us toward reaching a goal is a list of things to add.


the road ahead



We're used to pushing for more.


Why should we be surprised?  Our culture surrounds us with advertising that's designed to make us feel incomplete unless we buy the products on offer.  Advertisers and social media strive to create FOMO, the fear of missing out.  Who wants to be the one odd person?


And so we keep adding.  And it's not only physical possessions, but digital products, time commitments, bucket list desires, personal expectations, stress, anxiety, debt, and more.


Pretty soon it's hard to see any improvement to our daily life, but we seem helpless to choose a different way.





Choose the difference.


Remember your elementary math lessons?  Subtraction is called "finding the difference."  If you want to try a different way, subtract.


What does subtraction look like?  When you want to make a change in your life, start by asking what can be removed in order to accomplish your goal.

  • I want to be better informed.  I'll stop scrolling social media feeds and choose one balanced news source to read or listen to.
  • I want my house to look better.  I'll remove dusty, unused furniture, declutter duplicated and unneeded items, and clean/repair all the rest.
  • I want to improve my health.  I'll cut sodas, alcohol, and desserts to once a week, and reduce the amount of cheese I add to my food.


Removing things from your life lets you see what's most important.  And it doesn't have to cost a dime or make you busier – in fact, it may save you both money and time!


Here are some other ways subtraction can improve your life:

  • Instead of looking for new life hacks or productivity tips, try removing (or limiting) the major source of distraction in your life.
  • Instead of buying an online investment course or committing to a complicated budget or financial app, consider your current spending and look for five ways you can reduce it.  Have the savings automatically deposited into a mutual fund or other account.
  • Instead of adding new hobbies or entertainment to keep yourself from being bored, try a temporary fast from something you enjoy so you'll appreciate it more when you return to it.  You may already do this with seasonal activities (such as many sports), but it works well for almost anything.


When you subtract, you also save yourself the angst and second-guessing that can accompany trying to make a decision between all of the many things you could buy or add to your life.  It's far harder to consider all of the options, and you're more likely to fear that you've missed something "better," which leads to over-thinking and might even keep you from following through on your desire to make a change.  Subtraction bypasses that anxious perfectionism.  After all, you could go crazy trying to design the optimum vitamin regimen, but it's relatively easy to remove some of the foods you know are bad for you.


Subtraction is just another way to be minimalist.  It lets you remove what's holding you back so you can be free to pursue options that are more fulfilling.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why You Should Make "Less is More" Your Mantra for Life

By
Image
Maybe you've heard the saying popularized by architect Mies van der Rohe in 1947:  "Less is more." It's an oxymoron – a phrase that seems to contradict itself.  Others include "old news," "open secret," "unbiased opinion," and "awfully good."  Or the lament, "Parting is such sweet sorrow." What does "less is more" mean?  It's wonderfully open-ended.  Answers to that are as varied as the people who reply.  Consider: Less anxiety, more peace. Less debt, more savings. Less busywork, more substance. Less clutter, more space. Less comparison, more contentment. Less sugar, more vegetables. Voluntary simplicity Back in the 1990s, a fair number of Americans realized that the continual quest for more and better was stressing them out and keeping them from creating lives of purpose.  After the consumerist binge of the yuppie-era 80s, some started wondering if the big house, flashy car, exotic vacation, and Rolex we...
Read more

Beyond Decluttering: How a Minimalist Mindset Can Enhance Your Life

By
Image
Ask people to name someone they admire and want to emulate, and many will name a star actor, athlete, singer, or business titan.  Some will name a teacher, mentor, parent, or grandparent, but a large number of us idolize and model our lives on someone who has acquired fame and riches for their accomplishments. Achievement .  It's the one strong desire of our era.  The brightest and best want to achieve what no one else has managed, and I'm not just talking about Olympic record-setters.  We want to be richer than anyone has ever been.  We want to be internet sensations with millions of followers.  We want to colonize Mars, and then launch ourselves beyond the solar system with ships designed to travel for generations. In our production-driven, climb-the-corporate-ladder world, we're always reaching for something we don't yet have.  Yes, we're capable of imagining things that don't exist.  We can innovate.  But today we believe that there are n...
Read more

5 Better Questions for Making Smart Purchases than "Can I Afford It?"

By
Image
When I was growing up, the question asked about many purchases was "Can we afford this?"  That's really the only criterion I remember being considered.  And if there was enough money in the piggy bank or checking account, or enough room on the credit card, the answer was "yes." And so the purchase was made. How we justify our whims Now, I'm not suggesting that this question should never be asked.  Of course it's important to use funds wisely and stay within a budget.  But this question only came up when the purchase being contemplated was something extra.  We didn't ask it about groceries, gas, or laundry detergent. No, those aren't the kinds of purchases we need to justify, and so they aren't the purchases we question.  "Can we afford it?" is a question for that thing we just saw and decided we want.  It's the question we ask about a piece of clothing we don't absolutely need, or a tchotchke for the house, or a leisure acti...
Read more

52 Minimalist Hobbies to Benefit and Enrich Your Life

By
Image
Everyone benefits from a hobby or two.  Hobbies reduce stress by letting you spend time on something you enjoy provide scope for creativity and imagination make you more knowledgeable and interesting help you develop patience and skills improve your sense of accomplishment and self-esteem promote mindfulness and concentration can create a social life and let you bond with others who share your interests can allow you to stay active and physically healthy I've known people with entire rooms dedicated to their hobby – studios for painting and pottery, sewing rooms, woodworking sheds, and basements filled with wine-making apparatus or a model train setup. But even if you live in a small space, like my husband and I do, or you want to pursue hobbies that require less equipment and expense, you're in luck.  Many hobbies take a lot of space and tools, but many do not, and you can probably find one of those that you'll enjoy. There are some tricks to making a hobby work in a small...
Read more

18 Lazy Ways to Keep Your Home Clutter-Free

By
Image
Minimalism is about less.  Less stuff, less busyness, less debt, less stress.  Less time spent cleaning, organizing, fixing, and looking for things.  Less effort, which allows you to put your best effort toward the pursuits you really care about. So shouldn't staying clutter-free be nearly effortless?  If it's meant to save your time and energy for better things, then you need lazy ways to accomplish it. Here it is – the lazy way to declutter and stay that way. Easy tips to get and stay clutter-free 1.  Understand. This first one is a realization instead of an action, but it's essential.  You need to understand that the world is finite.  Your time and energy are finite.  Everything you bring into your life takes the world's resources and your time and energy to acquire and maintain.  You're trading all of that for more stuff.  Is it worth it? 2.  Use the Five Minute rule. Get a box.  Take five minutes and walk through your home...
Read more