Sometimes The Answer to Adding to the Quality of Life Is in The Subtraction

By Scott Osman

This past week was Yom Kippur, a day of fasting, reflection on the year past, and on the year to come. We often forget how powerful and immediate taking something away can be. Subtraction, stopping the action, or simply silence are the quickest ways to change the current situation. Steve Jobs is often quoted as saying that focus is not about saying yes. It means saying no to 1,000 things. Subtraction gives us a quick way to create the change we want to see. For leaders with imagination, it is a crucial tool. Great leaders know when to say nothing and give their team space to take the initiative. As leaders of our own lives, we can draw on some ancient wisdom of subtraction to make positive changes in our life.

For cultures, the idea of the Sabbath, the day of rest, includes giving something up. Tiffany Schlain has promoted Tech Shabbat for over a decade, giving up technology one day per week. By subtracting technology from one day per week, we are adding our ability to be open to what is around us when looking at a screen. By agreeing as a group to the tech Shabbat, this subtraction gives the bonus of seeing others in ways that are often overlooked when screens intervene. If subtraction of all technology seems too severe, choose one device to start. Perhaps it’s no TV, or no phone, or no computer for the day. Whatever you choose, it’s fine. Notice the space you are adding through subtraction. Notice what you see, smell, taste, hear and feel when you are not absorbed in the digital world. To find out more, check out Tiffanies book 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week for more info.

Slightly more obscure and infinitely more intriguing is the concept of the shmita (rhymes with pita) year. During shmita, Jews are commanded to let the land of Israel lie fallow — the laws only apply to the land of Israel. They may not sow, harvest, or even buy and sell crops they produce from the ground. They can only pick what grows on its own. It is a biblical prescription to allow the land to rest for a year to recover. What’s good for the earth can be good for us. Subtracting something for an entire year is extreme. That’s the point. By subtracting something for a year, you can try new things in the space you are creating. And when you return, it is with fresh eyes. And let’s face it, if COVID-19 has taught us anything, it is that we have the power to give something up when we need to. Perhaps you want to give us dessert for a year, or maybe only ice cream. Pick something you can accomplish, set your focus and intention, and begin the journey of giving up one thing for the whole year.

You can do this, and here is one more idea that will guarantee your success if you do it.

• Decide what you are going to give up.
• Keep it simple. Write it down.
• Every day, ask yourself, on a scale of 1-10, did you try your best not to do things you decided to subtract?
• Write down the number and then let it go.
• The next day, try your best again.
• Observe what happens.

Each day you get a new score, a new chance to accomplish the goal for that day. Feel the power of subtraction give you control and affirm the ability to decide. If the first goal was too ambitious, make it a little easier. A day without become a year with less. As you build your ability, think about other places in your life that you can add by subtracting.