It's amazing what we can learn from an afternoon of legos from engineering professor Leidy Klotz and his 3 year old son. In this episode we breakdown the power of practicing the art of subtraction.
When we are aiming for change we are often inclined to think about what we need to do more of and what we need to add to our lives and work rather than what we might need to do less of!!!
Subtraction is a powerful tool and can have a game changing impact on your life & work! When you practice subtraction you get to really focus on what is yours to do! Listen in as we explore how LESS can be MORE, can boost creativity, sharpen focus, and pave the way to help you move towards what you really want!
If you're ready to create space for more important things in your life this episode is for you!
_________________________________________________
Do you have questions you’d love to ask but don’t because you aren’t sure who to ask or you’d rather not let the world in on not having it all together? I am here for it! I can't wait to answer your questions. DM me on Instagram @jennifersise and I will answer your question on an episode soon.
Be sure to rate this podcast, leave a review, share it with your friends and hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode.
Here’s to more intentional connection and less grind … 9 minutes at a time!
It's amazing what we can learn from an afternoon of legos from engineering professor Leidy Klotz and his 3 year old son. In this episode we breakdown the power of practicing the art of subtraction.
When we are aiming for change we are often inclined to think about what we need to do more of and what we need to add to our lives and work rather than what we might need to do less of!!!
Subtraction is a powerful tool and can have a game changing impact on your life & work! When you practice subtraction you get to really focus on what is yours to do! Listen in as we explore how LESS can be MORE, can boost creativity, sharpen focus, and pave the way to help you move towards what you really want!
If you're ready to create space for more important things in your life this episode is for you!
_________________________________________________
Do you have questions you’d love to ask but don’t because you aren’t sure who to ask or you’d rather not let the world in on not having it all together? I am here for it! I can't wait to answer your questions. DM me on Instagram @jennifersise and I will answer your question on an episode soon.
Be sure to rate this podcast, leave a review, share it with your friends and hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode.
Here’s to more intentional connection and less grind … 9 minutes at a time!
Speaker 1:
If you had a dollar for every time you heard yourself or someone else say I don't have time for that, you'd probably be rich. I know life can feel like a circus, especially when you're trying to juggle it all, and I know what it's like to be pulled in a million different directions and to feel like there's never enough time to do all the things for all the people. But I really believe that what you want is possible. It just requires some decision making and intentional action. You truly can't make time or find time. You have to set it apart, and I'll show you how to make big moves and take game changing action nine minutes at a time. I'm Jennifer Seiss. I love helping impact-oriented women run their home life and business, gain traction in their day to day and have more time with the people they love the most. My heart is to share what I've learned along the way and help you get more of what you want out of your life and work. Every episode is designed to get you on your way to a quick win. So grab your favorite beverage, pull up a chair and let's start making more of your time. Hey there, and welcome to the In 9 Minutes Podcast. I'm Jennifer Seiss, and I can't wait to connect with you for the next nine minutes.
Speaker 1:
When you were in elementary school, did you like addition or subtraction better? I'm willing to bet that you said addition hands down, because subtraction always seems more challenging than addition. Addition has grown ups, don't you think? Well, leedy Klotz, an engineering professor at the University of Virginia, explores overlaps between engineering and behavioral science, and he shares some really cool insight about subtraction that he discovered when he was playing Legos with his little boy, and Leedy and his son, ezra, were building a bridge out of Legos and, as you can imagine, it was probably pretty awesome, because he was an engineer and the support towers were different heights so they couldn't span them. And so Leedy reached for a block to add to the shorter tower, and as he turned around back towards the bridge, his three-year-old son, ezra, was removing a block from the taller tower. Leedy's impulse had been to add to the short support, and in that moment he realized it was wrong and that taking away from the tall support was a faster and more efficient way to create a level bridge.
Speaker 1:
It's wild how our instinct is to add instead of take away, isn't it? We are so inclined to add rather than take away. In almost every area of our life and in working with clients and in my own life, I have discovered that when we are aiming for change, we often start with thinking about what we need to do more of and what we need to add to our lives and to our work, rather than what we need to do less of, and our thinking is so often inclined towards more in everything. And this fall, working with one of my clients, we really focused on subtraction, on doing less, and what happened was she doubled down and really focused on specific areas of her life. We reworked her schedule and her time and what she discovered is that her creativity was heightened. She wrote a book. That is amazing. She had one of the best quarters in her business ever and she experienced more balance and connection at the end of the day, with her family that she really, really wanted and needed. And it all came because she thought differently about adding and did some subtracting instead, and it was really exciting to see and it was so much fun and this is possible for everyone.
Speaker 1:
As a quick side note, the notion of addition can be really tricky when it comes to parenting too, and we are going to cover that in another episode, but I just want to mention that a lot of times, parents think more rules will help their children behave better or turn out better, when in actuality, a few clear rules or boundaries can be all it takes. So we will cover more of the addition and subtraction conversation when it comes to parenting another day. For now, we spend time acquiring more things. That's what we spend time doing, especially things like knowledge and stuff. Instead of leaning into or using what we already have or already know. We read more books and listen to more podcasts and have this stockpile of things that go unused or unapplied and can often make life feel more cluttered. We really need to consider the art of subtraction, the idea of potentially doing less and digging deeper into less things, because that can be a game changer.
Speaker 1:
Subtraction is the act of getting to less. It's not the same as doing less. In fact, getting to less often means doing, or at least thinking, more in certain areas and, like my client who wrote a book, she had to think more in that area. She had to lean in to spending more time writing and fleshing all of those things out. So it wasn't that she did less, she just did things differently, and because she subtracted things from her life and work, she was able to double down in more specific areas, which led to more of what she really wanted. Subtraction is a powerful tool that can help you simplify your life and help you make more impactful and effective decisions, and by intentionally removing things from your life, you create space for the more important things and the opportunity to dig deeper and explore creativity and experience more focus and discipline. Again, just like my client did.
Speaker 1:
In our striving to improve our lives, we overwhelmingly add and we overlook the option to subtract from what is already there. We really really need to practice subtraction. Always. Adding things can be detrimental. Not saying no to things can wreak havoc on our lives and business, and saying no isn't necessarily about doing less again, but it's more about taking the time to think through what you do and don't do, what you want to do, what you don't want to do, and what you need to do and what you don't need to do. When you practice subtraction, you get to really focus on what is yours to do, and so often we add things without thinking and we end up doing things that aren't even for us to do. Like I said before.
Speaker 1:
Most of us instinctively add things to improve things, and I want to offer you a new thought today. What if, instead of adding things to your life to get what you want, you considered subtracting some things? Because subtraction can lead to margin, and margin leads to space for what and who matters most. It leads to space to dream and take intentional action, and when all you do is add to your life, you don't even have time to put what you have to good use or put what you've consumed into practice. I know subtraction is harder than addition, and this has been true since we were kids, and studies even show that our brains like addition over subtraction, even in its simplest forms. But you can tell your brain what to think and you can tell your brain to appreciate subtraction over addition by practicing it more and using more of it in your life.
Speaker 1:
Subtraction brings freedom, with less stuff and less commitments. Our lives are less congested, we're more flexible and have margin for the things that really matter most. Subtraction brings clarity and allows you to focus and go all in where it matters most. And when you have clarity and when you have the time to think about what you really want to focus on and discover what really matters the most and you can take action there that amplifies your purpose. And when you can walk and serve and live in your purpose, you will feel so much freedom and experience so much balance and enjoy your life and work so much more. The idea of less is so profound, and it's a beautiful way to crush a dollar. Nothing mindset. Less in many cases is actually more, and subtraction can change the game. It's so interesting to me, too, that the less is more thing is noted to be from an architect, someone who was building something Reminds me of the Lego story I shared at the beginning of the episode, where they subtracted to make something stronger. The bridge was, in effect, more stable because they took something away from it.
Speaker 1:
I want to encourage you today to take nine minutes to consider where you can make some subtractions in your life. In other words, what do you need less of so you can have more of something else? Less busyness and more peace, less distractions and more focus, less grind and more growth, less stuff and more clarity. Here's to less addition and more subtraction. Nine minutes at a time, and I'm pulling for you always. Thanks so much for listening today.
Speaker 1:
Do you have questions you'd love to ask, but don't because you aren't sure who to ask or you'd rather not let the world in on not having it all together. I get it. I get lots of questions all the time, from parenting to business development, to Bible study, recommendations to the best meal to serve a crowd and even how to navigate hard conversations. My husband and kids call me Google, and since I'm a problem solver by nature and love research, it sort of fits. So I am so excited to answer your questions. You can share your questions with me by DMing me on Instagram at Jennifer Seiss and I'll answer your questions on an upcoming episode. So here's to more intentional connection and less grind. Nine minutes at a time.