Addition By Subtraction

If you’re like me, when you feel a sense of dissatisfaction or discontentment, you search for something to add. I’ll try reading more books, introduce a new habit, or look to find another productive activity to boost my schedule. If I just had the right thing, I tell myself, it will be better. And if it doesn’t work, I just need to add something different. Unfortunately, it rarely works that way.

Sometimes we experience addition by subtraction, or reducing what we do to experience more. The old saying, “less is more” often rings true. Instead of looking for more to add, more joy comes in simplifying what is currently in front of us. I’ll share an example from my life: when I am feeling disconnected with God, I often look for something to boost my quiet time, as if more sermons, books or journaling will get me some extra holy juice, so to speak. Sometimes starting a new book or practice does help, but overhauling my life to get a little bit more has not proven successful. In this case, by doing less, I often hear from God more by reducing the distractions and opening my heart and mind to hear his voice. I might not be an expert at hearing God’s voice, but the one thing I know is that by being a better listener, you’re bound to hear someone better. Profound, I know.

This concept applies to so much more than our time with God. Reducing our choices for dinner makes it easier to find satisfaction in the final option. Listening to one album instead of bouncing around 1,000 songs makes you appreciate the musician you’re hearing. Taking a break from a distraction – whether our phone or anything else bogging us down – might give us the exact energy boost we need.

So I guess less is more. At the very least, it gives us a chance to slow down and smell the flowers. I recently heard an interview with Tony Robbins, who talked about how most people focus on what’s missing in their lives, not what they have. If you’re constantly in a mindset that looks for what’s missing, you can’t be happy. You’re in a state of lack. But if you appreciate what you have, your energy can be boundless and your life can be full. If you do addition by subtraction, or have less to experience more, you’ll achieve exactly that.