Posted on 12/21/2017 11:30:27 PM PST by aquila48
It’s a new year and people all over the world are making resolutions on how they’re going to improve themselves. Usually these goals consist of doing something new or adding a habit to their lives: get back into exercising, start journaling, launch a side hustle, adopt the Paleo diet, earn more money, etc.
But after a few weeks of motivated effort, most folks start to lose steam.
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There’s nothing wrong with making these types of positive goals, but they’re not the only way to improve your life. Just as effective as adding something to our lives, if not more so, is subtracting the things that might be holding us back.
In truth, oftentimes the path to becoming a better man is found in following the via negativa — the negative way.
Via Negativa Your Way to a Better Life
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Via negativa can also be used to describe a similarly “negative” way of improving one’s life; instead of concentrating on what you do, the focus turns to what you don’t do. This path has two main thrusts: stripping bad habits and situations out of your life, and avoiding bad habits/situations in the first place.
Getting Rid of Bad Habits/Downside
In his book Antifragile, Nassim Taleb argues that the best way for a person or organization to become antifragile (something that gains from setbacks and chaos rather than just survives) is to first decrease their downside. Downside consists of those things, people, actions, habits, or systems that make you vulnerable to volatility and risk. For example, debt isn’t much of a problem when you have enough money coming in to make your payments, but as soon as you lose your job, that debt becomes a really big problem, really fast.
(Excerpt) Read more at artofmanliness.com ...
Good idea, I’m removing resolutions.
A year ago, I made my life much better by subtracting Barack Hussein from my concerns, my worries, and my life. There is no way imaginable to make that big an improvement again.
^5, strongly concur.
I need to subtract “stuff”. Time to decontent parts of my life.
I have removed local broadcasting news shows from my life
bump
Removing the NFL and the NBA from my life has done wonders for my happiness.
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