In a recent newsletter, I talked about how life has become “unbundled” (split into individual parts like cable TV becoming a dozen streaming services).

We now have separated work, exercise, socialization, and meaning…most of the solutions that will make us healthier, happier, and more connected require us to find EXTRA time in the day. 

For example, exercise is no longer something we automatically do in order to survive. This is a good thing! Cars and desk jobs and couches and grocery stores and delivery mean our physical fitness doesn’t dictate whether we get to eat. 

But also, it means we have to find extra time in the day to exercise, which is tough when we’re all busy and burned out.

Or, let’s say we’re trying to “eat healthier” (remember that food doesn’t have morality!), so we try to solve this by adding ADDITIONAL protein, or learning to cook NEW recipes, or adding additional foods to the plate.

Although there’s a time and place for addition and adding healthy habits, or adding to our routine, this can also feel overwhelming and exhausting too.

In addition, when we add NEW things to a day or routine, it might have unintended consequences, or leave us feeling burned out, etc.

Enter “Via Negativa”…

Via Negativa: Addition by Subtraction

In a recent newsletter from the Roam Research app (a program I’ve used for years to build my own “Steve Wikipedia” essentially!), they referenced a phrase from my 2nd favorite curmudgeon-philosopher, Nassim Nicholas Taleb..

(My favorite curmudgeon is Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli fame.)

Taleb calls the term “Via Negativa,” which is Latin for “acting by removing:”

“Via negativa (acting by removing) is more powerful and less error-prone than via positiva (acting by addition).”

When we remove a negative from our lives, it often requires less time, and the end result is more predictable. 

In his book Antifragile, Taleb talks about the power of “via negativa,” and how it’s often avoiding the negative that separates the professionals from amateurs:

“Chess grandmasters usually win by not losing; people become rich by not going bust (particularly when others do)…You reduce most of your personal risks of accident thanks to a small number of measures.”

Yep, this quote sounds quite like another of my favorite curmudgeons, Warren Buffet:

“Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No. 1.”

So, although I’m a pretty positive person, I thought more about “Via Negativa” and where it fit into my life.

It turns out, I do this all the time.

Via Negativa: Addition by Subtraction in our Lives

At the simplest level, “via negativa” can improve day-to-day life through subtraction.

Instead of deleting or sorting podcast episodes or newsletters each week we no longer enjoy…clicking “unsubscribe” once removes all future effort and clutter.

Instead of getting more and more addicted to social media, delete the app from your phone so you’re not even tempted to scroll “just for a few minutes!”

Instead of needing to ADD willpower by not eating junk food that’s in the pantry subtracting it from the house removes the need to use willpower entirely. 

Oh what’s that? You want even MORE examples of “addition by subtraction?” Fine.

Let’s get weird:

We can use Ulysses pacts to protect ourselves from ourselves, we can remove the possibility to a bad decision by removing the decision entirely.

We can remove rules or outdated expectations or goals that no longer fit our lifestyle.

We can Swedish Death Clean the crap out of our lives as it starts to accumulate, it gives the rest of our life and goals and expectations the space they need to breathe.

I often joke about how nothing good happens after a certain time. I know I can avoid future bad decisions (one more drink…a few hours less of sleep…more junk food…) by simply removing myself and going home.

Of course, that hour seems to keep getting earlier and earlier!

I’ll leave you with one more quote from a young curmudgeon who died too soon, Steve Jobs:

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. 

[Focus] means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.

I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.”

I’ve been thinking a lot about boundaries lately, and I’m realizing that the best boundaries are the ones that help me when I really want to say yes in the moment that I know I really need to say no to for a future payoff.

I’ve been working on a secret project for the last 2.5 years , and it’s required me to say NO a lot along the way.

Not just to all the things I don’t have time for, but all of the things I actually really love and wished I had time for!  

Here’s a final “via negativa” that changed my life:

Instead of trying to “time the stock market” or (even worse) day-trade stocks which will lead to ruin, I removed these alluring temptations entirely. Instead, I contribute monthly to a boring Vanguard index fund and leave it alone.

(This one decision will probably result in millions of additional dollars over the course of my lifetime, thanks Ramit!)

Your turn, my friend! 

Your mission, should you choose to accept it:

Pick one thing this week you can remove from your life to make things simpler or better:

• An old goal or expectation that’s weighing you down. 
• Uninstall a social media app from your phone (I promise you’ll survive!)
• Put a boundary in place that helps you say NO to something you would have otherwise said “yes” to and then regretted.
• Delete the sports gambling app, or the day-trading app, or the gatcha game on your phone. The only way to win is to NOT play.

Via Negativa!

-Steve