I first internalized the concept of removing a negative a few years ago upon hearing an interview of Pete Adeney, a.k.a. Mr. Money Mustache. Pete is well known within the "FIRE" (Financial Independence, Retire Early) community. Check out his website for a fun way to learn how to fast forward your savings and retirement goals. https://www.mrmoneymustache.com In this particular interview, Pete was discussing how many of our purchases do not lead to prolonged happiness. We develop rapid hedonistic adaptation to many material goods. A way to have a more prolonged increase in your joy following a purchase, however, is to intentionally buy a thing or a service that removes a negative in your life. For example, if you have a reliable, fuel-efficient, all-weather vehicle with modern amenities, buying an updated model will boost your happiness very briefly. You will have a quick dopamine hit from your new shiny object but you will quickly return to your baseline level of satisfaction. If, however, your car frequently breaks down, has no heat, and cannot be driven in snow, buying a modern all-wheel-drive vehicle will remove a considerable negative from your life. You will have much more sustained satisfaction and gratitude following that purchase. This can be a guiding principle when it comes to what we spend our money on. The fixes needed for the annoyances or negatives in our lives are often not exciting things to spend money on. But they will be the things to give us more sustained happiness. Buying myself a 45th soft sweater would boost my joy quickly but shortly, whereas buying boring phone chargers would lead to more sustained satisfaction (removing the frequent evening hunt).
This concept can also be applied to other areas of our lives. When faced with an overwhelming to-do list, address the thing that is the biggest pain point first. Eat the frog. What is on your mind the most? What item on your to-do list will cause the greatest negative in your life, if not addressed? You can do eight menial items on your list, but you will not have the same satisfaction you would have if you attacked the most dreaded, most pressing, or most necessary thing first. Similarly, we learned in medical school to go to the hospital room of the patient you need to have a difficult conversation with first.
This can be applied to major life decisions as well. Decisions like making a move to a different home or city, or taking a new job can be better clarified by viewing it through this lens. Is there a current negative that the potential new move or new job would remove? If so, you will have substantially greater satisfaction with that decision than one that just takes into account more, bigger, or better.
This idea can also be extrapolated to your overall career or volunteer contributions. How can you contribute to removing a negative in the world? Can you remove a negative for your patients or your clients? What things are they struggling with that you are perfectly positioned to help with? Can you remove a negative from your neighborhood, your child's school, or the greater environment? Your satisfaction will be greatly increased if you can contribute in this way.
So meditate on your biggest or most frequent pain points. What are you struggling with? Is it that annoying door lock? Is it a strained relationship? Is it your old slow computer? Is it anxiety over climate change? Look at your small or large annoyances or problems and ask, how can I remove a negative here? Your happiness, gratitude, and life satisfaction will increase and stay increased.
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