The concept of essentialism can be applied to many problems that we approach in our day to day. Usually when we have a problem, our natural instinct is to add a new habit or buy a new solution. But usually we improve our lives by subtracting instead by taking things away. And sometimes by defining what we shouldn't do, it becomes even more clear what we should. It's like we're solving a problem through process of elimination. If life was wordle, where we're just trying to figure out what's, what are the like by process of elimination, what is the right answer because I'm learning what isn't? That's not my problem. My problem is figuring out
Welcome to another Friday Philosophy episode where we consider a different mental model, investigate our favorite frameworks, and muse on the creative habits and rituals of people we admire.
Today we’re digging into an esoteric philosophy called, Via Negativa.
We'll be looking at this framework and sharing how we use it to improve our relationship with time, how we discern our highest priorities, and how to avoid burn out.
Key take aways:
- How to use the theory of Via Negativa to abate burn out, overwhelm, and discern our most pressing priorities
- The power of subtracting vs. adding into several areas of our lives when thinking about our future visions
- How to conserve your energy by asking better questions like, “what's blocking my current perspective that I might be able to subtract?”
- How this mental model can help reduce “grasping energy”
📚 Resources and Links:
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