I recently had a thought-wandering ball listening to this episode of the Happiness Lab podcast, titled - The Happiness of Subtraction. It was a timely listen as I was reflecting on our recent experience of taking away our eldest’s smartphone. He did a full 3 week unplug and it was fascinating to see what happened. What started as a punishment ended up being labelled a social experiment that we all reviewed at the end. But before I get into that, let me explain the practice of subtraction and why I think it’s of great significance to our lives right now.
The episode explained that when adults are asked how they might improve something, a recipe lets say, they always take the option of adding something. More flavours, more ingredients, more cooking techniques, more accompaniments and yet so often wonderful creative solutions and novel experiences lie not in adding but in taking away. It seems this is not how must of us are wired to think. This was a light bulb moment for me as I am increasingly finding myself surrounded by so many things which just feel too ‘extra’. I was reminded of the famous quote by designer Coco Chanel; “Before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off."
I would not describe myself as a minimalist, but I noted how I might practise subtraction more than I realised and was inspired to be more proactively with this practice of taking things to create new opportunities. I particularly enjoyed the example used in the episode about how a dad, desperate to get his kid to ride a bike, spent thousands of dollars on all sorts of extra equipment with no luck, before simply removing the pedals. His name was Ryan McFarland, founder of what became the smash hit product, Strider Bikes.
I notice there are a lot of businesses doing well from subtraction. Stripped back menus, phone free events are all popping up and I’ve even noticed an increase in workout classes which advise no footwear. There is much opportunity in removing things and letting go of our obsession with adding more, more, more.
Perhaps one of the most famous subtractors of all time is Marie Kondo, who created an entire organising movement out of a process which begins with taking things away. Her approach of picking only what sparks joy, I believe applies more broadly than our sock drawers. One example is travel. When making a trip somewhere, possibly somewhere you might never go back to, there is a temptation to squeeze everything in. A tick list itinerary emerges and you set off on a loop of all things you simply ‘must’ see whilst you’re there.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Notes from the PLAYFUL DEN to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.