The process of elimination may elevate your life in ways that striving to have or learn more cannot.
Many self-improvement books written in the past few decades are a bit heavy on hype and light on substance, but let’s not be too quick to dismiss the whole field.
- What are some goals worth aiming for?
- How do I change myself and my habits?
This is good stuff, but I think there are two traps that any would-be self-improver should be aware of. The first is the very real possibility that you might aim for the wrong target.
Self-improvement is no magic pill. Many smart and ambitious people throughout history have used their impressive self-improvement powers to become ugly humans. To truly improve oneself, you must make sure the direction you are moving to is better—not just different.
The second trap is the temptation to become a self-improvement junkie. I’m sure you know people like this in your life. They’re always reading about how to change, but so rarely changing. They know all the techniques but so little of the practice.
Let’s focus on the second trap—how to avoid becoming a self-improvement junkie.
A Minimalist’s Self-Improvement Approach
Here are seven ways to help you effectively move along the path of self-improvement.
1. Identify Whether You’re Procrastinating or Improving
As I mentioned above, there’s a real temptation for some of us to get sucked into constantly reading about self-improvement—to the extent of it becoming something of a hobby. I believe the reason for this is simple—reading about self-improvement gives you much of the initial pleasure of changing your life without any of the demands doing it entails.
As long as we’re planning to change or reading about the best ways to improve ourselves, we don’t have to actually start. In this way, self-improvement can be a kind of procrastination.
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The first step in changing such behavior is recognizing that it applies to you. That’s it. Just notice that you’re daydreaming rather than acting. Notice that the practice is pleasurable—but not productive.
Minimalist self-improvement aims to spend as little time as possible in the “researching” phase and more time in the “application” stage– where the work is done.
2. Counter Self-Doubt With Simplicity
One of the main reasons why people turn into self-improvement junkies is self-doubt. They want to change but don’t trust themselves. They assume that most other people have some special knowledge or skills that they don’t possess, so they keep searching and searching for the key to magically eliminate the struggle.
It’s true that change is hard, but it’s also surprisingly simple.
Some human disciplines require special knowledge accumulated over time. Take medicine or engineering, for example.
But for most everyday human pursuits, no special knowledge is needed. The path to improvement is beautifully simple—intentionally practice what you want to get better at repeatedly.
Find the one or two potential improvements that matter most and focus your energy on doing those things well.
For example, if you want to improve your general health, you might be tempted to read 100 blog posts or a dozen books on the latest theories on human health. But if you’re already exercising 20 to 30 minutes a day, you don’t need all that extra information. Just keep exercising or up your challenge. Don’t miss a day. Do that for six to 12 months and see how you feel.
3. Be Consistent
The power of minimalist self-improvement is that it removes the false sense that we’re doing real work by merely reading about how to change. Minimalist self-improvement eliminates the excuse that improvement isn’t possible because it recognizes that self-improvement is mostly about being consistent.
Chances are you already know exactly what you need to do in order to improve a certain aspect of your life or character, you just haven’t stuck with the plan long enough to see results. Or you keep changing the plan along the way. As cliche as it sounds—it’s not rocket science—it’s consistency.
Once you start making a little progress or showing a bit of consistency with your “one thing,” you’ll probably be tempted to add something else. Or maybe you’ll want to research how to do that one thing better.
Don’t!
Just keep doing that one thing. Do it well, with focus, and for a long period of time. The true magic of minimalist self-improvement is giving yourself a consistent target and a long runway.
When your improvement habit becomes so deeply ingrained in your life that you can’t imagine your routine without it—only then should you consider adding something else.
Via Negativa–The Study of What Not to Do
Once you grasp the crucial emotional aspects of personal change, you may instinctively begin looking for new habits to add to your life. For most of us, that’s rarely the wisest place to start.
- I want to improve my life—what new habits can I add?
- I want to improve my business—what processes need to be changed or adopted?
- I want to be smarter—what new knowledge can I acquire?
- I want to grow in my faith—what good deeds or disciplines must I perform?
- I want to improve my health—what new diet or exercise routine can I try?
One important rule of thumb I’ve come to rely on is that most complex problems are easier to solve backward. Instead of asking what can be added or changed to bring about improvement, start by looking for what can be removed or avoided.
In theology and philosophy, this approach is often called “via negativa” or “by way of removal.”
The Path of Subtraction
Via negativa has several advantages:
- It is often much easier to see what is wrong than right.
- In a complex environment (pretty much all of life), even seemingly “good” additions can have unforeseen consequences. It’s often easier to predict what will happen by way of removal.
- Most people spend time thinking about what to add, so chances are high that you can find some low-hanging fruit by simply asking what can be removed—like the daily soft drink from your diet or making your home more inviting without spending a dime by removing clutter.
- Much of what we call being successful is simply showing up and avoiding the big mistakes even smart people make. There is an enormous upside to avoiding mistakes such as overspending or becoming unreliable because of your perfectionism or procrastination.
- Removing things from your life allows you to focus on what is most important.
- Removing things also gives you free options. For example, you can take advantage of the neighbor’s last-minute offer for dinner by simply leaving more margins around your schedule. Optionality is being available but not required to take advantage of the good things that pop up along the journey.
Subtraction for Self-Improvement
Many areas of your life might be improved by simply removing or reducing what is already there.
- Perfectionism. Instead of letting the false need for a perfect result slow you down, try to give yourself a certain amount of time to decide and stick with it.
- Clutter. Instead of organizing your house and your stuff, try reducing the amount you own.
- Distraction. Instead of searching for new productivity tips, remove the major sources of distraction in your life. If you can’t remove them, make them less accessible.
- New Knowledge. Instead of reading another self-help book or blog, write down five key things you’ve learned in the past year and spend the next year trying to master those.
- Procrastination. Instead of searching for more time in your day or some secret to life that others seem to possess, find a way to remove the source of your procrastination.
- Habits. Instead of looking for new habits to add to your life, remove the bad ones.
- Diet. Instead of trying a new fad diet, simply eat less of what you know is worst for you. Another approach might be to occasionally fast from certain indulgences for a period of time. It’s sometimes easier to be totally on or totally off.
- Work. Instead of adding another meeting, project, or idea, look for inefficiencies within the current system that can be removed or addressed.
- Finances. Instead of making a complicated budget, look for areas in your current spending you can reduce. Repeat as often as desired.
- Fasting. Instead of adding new pleasures and entertainment to your life to defend against boredom, try a temporary fast from something you enjoy to renew your appreciation.
- Chemicals. Instead of adding new products to your life with the goal of being healthier, consider what can be removed.
The Practice of Simplicity
In a nutshell, via negativa is just another application of the practice of minimalism. There are many ways to simplify your life and benefit from this timeless, fool-proof way to improve yourself and benefit those around you.
It’s simple to look at what you’re already doing and ask what can be removed. It’s far more challenging to consider all of the solutions (usually at some cost) that society has to offer for your problems and consider which one will work best. Such a path often leads to overthinking and over-doing.
The practice of simple living forces you to pare down and decide what is most important to you. It pushes you towards living more intentionally through the series of choices. I hope it proves as beneficial to you as it has been for me.
