Make New Year's Resolution by Subtractive Changes
Minus before you add.
When we think about making changes, we often default to add-ons. The “more” mentality leads us to thinking that if I want to get to X, I need to get Y. Our tendency to overlook the counter-intuitive “less” mentality leads us to overburden our minds and schedules.1
If you want to make changes, think about not just the pluses, but also the minuses.
What do I need to do less of? What do I need to reduce in my schedule in order to do what I really care about? What do I need to let go of?
If you have been wanting to get back to painting, make time by subtracting Netflix in the evenings. If you have been wanting to be more productive with writing in the mornings, stop reading the news the first thing after you wake up.
Practise subtraction before addition.
This is a mini-section from the forthcoming book, Crossing Between Worlds.
Stay tuned for more excerpts and counterintuitive ideas from Crossing Between Worlds.
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Daryl Chow Ph.D. is the author of The First Kiss, co-author of Better Results, and The Write to Recovery, Creating Impact, and The Field Guide to Better Results .
If you are a helping professional, you might like my other Substack, Frontiers of Psychotherapist Development (FPD).
See research from Adams, G. S., Converse, B. A., Hales, A. H., & Klotz, L. E. (2021). People systematically overlook subtractive changes. Nature, 592 (7853), 258–261. http://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03380-y