I love to read, I love to learn, and I love to apply new knowledge to different areas in my life. I also want to share and grow that knowledge with others. With that spirit in mind I am writing this blog. Here I will review books, share the ideas that resonated with me, and discuss strategies to make those ideas easily actionable.
The Book: Subtract (Leidy Klotz)
The foundational argument of the book is that subtraction as a strategy is regularly overlooked. Klotz provides excellent and thorough support for this argument. Klotz also speculates about the numerous possible causes for this neglect.
Why Is the Subtraction Strategy Neglected?
Evolutionary Biological Causes
From the evolutionary biological perspective, the acquisition and presence of material resources signal superior fitness. Alternatively stated, if caveman Ug wants to convince Oogla he is a good potential partner, then showing her his big cave and latest designer spear provides social proof she should swipe right.
Additionally, when caveman Ug builds a boss fire pit for his cave, he is reminded of his own self-efficacy. Modifications or the presence of our objects in an environment remind us that we have power and control that space.
Economic Causes
The little Capitalist engine that could has been chugging along globally for hundreds of years. This robust little guy has one small quirk: he requires infinite growth to run well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ . To make sure the little guy gets over the hill, we citizens should do our part and buy more things every year.
Addition Addiction
I agree with Klotz that subtraction as a strategy is often neglected and find the author’s research and my own anecdotal experience to be in alignment. I also think that the multiple smaller causes mentioned by the author are the wind in the sails of the addition strategy.
Adding to solve a problem requires less thought and most people stop at “good enough”. For example, fried cakes were a good enough treat, but not great. In 1847 Hanson Gregory’s mother was making him her fried cakes, but they were always soggy in the middle.
Hanson decided to remove the center of the fried cakes and the doughnut as we know it was born. The doughnut required less dough, cooked more evenly, and had more surface area for toppings.
Key Insights
Subtraction: The Neglected Tool
In life, we think of things we would like to improve, which usually implies some kind of addition. We want more time to do the things we love, and we want more money to buy the things we want. If only I had more energy, more time, more discipline! How can I check one more box on that To Do List?
Stop Doing List
One of the tools that Klotz mentions that I found interesting is the Stop Doing List. If you want to add something of more value in your life, it means you are going to pull from the same pool of finite resources you have for everything else. Trade-offs are unavoidable, so make the best ones you can.
For people who struggle with addiction, the stop-doing list isn’t news. People with addiction though are probably focused on a very specific pain point or points. Human beings are creatures of habit and most of the time we are engaged in our habits, good or bad. Our habits are so ingrained, they are like little ninjas [-_-]~ taking our resources without us knowing.
Stop Doing List: Steps To Make Yours
- Make a list of things you regularly do everyday – Most of the time people are operating in what psychologists refer to as “Default Mode Network” or an unfocused mind-wandering state. Our habits feel effortless because of their nature, but they consume time and resources like anything else. Make a list of those habits.
- Review the list and evaluate the costs – Habits form naturally and are often influenced by external forces. Even when those external forces are gone, the habits remain. When I was pursuing my Masters degree, I had to work full-time while going to school. I was regularly operating on 2 to 4 hours of sleep during my work week. At the time I was eating quick, sugary, high calorie foods to keep myself going.
Even after I received my degree my bad food habits persisted, I realized that I was getting in shape…that shape was round. My state of health was the result of numerous mini-investments but the short-term gains of instant availability, good taste, and high energy were offset by long-term cost. I needed to change my habits. - Choose one thing to stop doing and track it – Like all people, I have areas I struggle with. I also have unique strengths I can leverage to overcome difficulties. As a high-functioning individual on the autistic spectrum, I am fantastic when it comes to habits and consistency.
I realized that I needed to change things brick by brick, so I found one small thing I was doing (brick) that was negatively impacting me, and I replaced it with a positive brick. I would then track my behavior to see if my positive brick was set into place. There are three strategies you can use to create positive bricks: swapping, stopping, or shrinking
Swapping – “When I am thirsty I will drink water instead of soda.” The gold medal winner of bricks, replacing a small negative with a small positive.
Stopping – “I won’t drink soda.” The silver medal winner, terminating a small negative.
Shrinking – “I will only drink soda on the weekends.” The bronze medal winner, mitigating a negative.
Subtracting Negatives Adds Positive Value
If apathy’s motto is “Nothing I do matters”, then interest’s motto is “Everything I do matters”. These bricks make up the unique architecture that is our person – we are indeed multitudes. I understand perfectionists may get frustrated, especially if they want a gold brick, but the best they can manage is a bronze brick.
I definitely have wanted gold only to get bronze, but the beautiful thing about being multitudes is there is always another negative brick for me to remove. Also, the bricks exist interdependent of one another. Sometimes the removal of a series of negative bricks will cause other, previously embedded bricks to fall out as a secondary effect.
Applying this methodology to my eating habits, I am 30 pounds lighter than I was at my peak weight. I feel much better and am happier. Additionally, I have consistently trended towards better overall health.
Conclusion
Subtract is an excellent book with very interesting ideas, it is also the first book I am discussing on this blog. I may post more content on this book, but no matter what, you can count on me to add at least 1 new book review a month.
My goal is to refine complex ideas into simple, actionable modules that you can easily integrate into your life.
Thanks for reading 🙂