You Were Born Happy (But You’re Making Your Life Worse)
The art of addition by subtraction
We live in an ‘addition’ culture.
That is, if you don’t have what you want, you think you need to add something.
A new routine
Some fancy gadgets
The right people to show you the way
But this is all Fool’s Gold.
It’s a trap.
It’s like putting things into a backpack to help you run faster.
But what if success was about subtracting, not adding?
To run faster, you need to remove things from the backpack.
To reach the success and happiness you’re capable of, you need to trim the fat in your life.
The Fox and the Cat
A fox and a cat met in the forest.
The fox boasted to the cat his many strategies for avoiding predators — he had a big bag of tricks.
The cat, on the other hand, told the fox she only had one.
All of a sudden, they heard the horrifying sound of wolves rustling through the trees — the fox and the cat were in trouble.
The cat immediately shot up the tree and invited the fox to follow.
But the fox was stuck trying to decide which trick to use.
He hesitated — and that moment was all the wolves needed.
The cat, safely atop the tree, said “Better one safe way than a hundred on which you cannot reckon.”
Addition by subtraction
“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.
I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
— Michelangelo
Just like the cat, you need not search for more and more tricks — but double down on what works.
You only have a finite amount of time and energy — choose wisely what you spend it on.
Because your time and energy are your life.
When you spend the currency of attention on something, your life clock ticks away.
You have to be ultra-conservative.
What exists in your life that is not contributing to a positive life?
Who are the people taking your time?
What are the activities cluttering your schedule?
Things that do not contribute to your goals are robbing you of your vitality.
They leave you no time for the things that contribute to your physical and mental health.
Do not look to expand — narrow in
It’s natural to look elsewhere — to be like the fox, seeking different kinds of tricks to thrive.
But this is a distraction from what matters.
Spend some time thinking about the direction you want to go in — what goals you want to achieve.
Create daily actions that help you achieve that goal.
Spend time with the people who bring you joy and energy.
Remove everything else.
Do not yearn for more.
You don’t need new routines, new people or new tools to be happy.
You were born happy.
You just need to remove what’s keeping you from it.
Thank you for reading!
This story was heavily inspired by - please go check out his writing.
I’m Eren and I use stories from experiences in my life to explain self-improvement — and how you can change your life but just changing your thoughts.
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I’ll admit that I’m one to add, add, add. And sometimes, it does make me happy because I’m adding things I truly enjoy. But I often have this idea of big and bold activities that will make me happy (a second income, volunteering, another degree, a new morning routine, a new evening routine), when I’m often happiest and most fulfilled just spending lots of time with the people I love.
I love the title of this piece — it’s so achingly true. Go back to the roots. Stop overcomplicating things. Thank you for a lovely reminder.
Great post Eren! This same idea dawned on me recently, resulting on me making some changes in my own life. Namley in the way of drastically reducing partying and (as a result of that) some freindships. I allow myself so much more time and energy with one simple decision... I have Sunday's back! On the flipside, I'm doubling down on exercising and sports (one of my main passions).