Less is More

This past week, I’ve been thinking about how packed my goal list has been. I’ve been studying Hebrew, trying to expand my trading playbook, maintaining my catalyst-driven strategy (which includes a lot of research and reading), learning new weightlifting movements, getting more zone 2 cardio, exploring psychology and mindset, making progress on my coding projects, meditating, and writing blog posts.

It’s all a bit much.

I’ve succumbed to one of my biggest flaws: a lack of focus and an overzealousness that leads me to stretch myself too thin. I try to make progress everywhere at once, at the expense of making the most progress on the things that matter most to me. The next step is a simple process: subtraction.

I definitely suffer from a similar trait my father has—I can’t throw anything out. This applies to everything from an air pump I haven’t used in two years (but might need if I ever pick up basketball again) to ideas, routines, habits, and goals. Adding things is easy; removing them is hard. I tell myself, “maybe it’ll be useful eventually, maybe I’ll pick that habit up again.” But if something isn’t working after a few months, it probably isn’t a good fit. The thing is, once I remove something, once it’s gone, I never think about it again. It’s that initial hump that leads to clutter, but once I clear it, I feel lighter.

Going forward, I want to cultivate negative space in my life by removing the unimportant habits and goals that have built up. Learning Hebrew proved to me that I can stick to something and that I can learn a language if it’s important enough. But right now, it isn’t a skill I need to prioritize. I need to focus more on what will truly move the needle in my life: trading and health.

I’ll remove everything that holds me back from my main goals—developing new, longer-term swing setups while maintaining quality in my bread-and-butter catalyst trades. I’ll also cut distractions like X and Reddit to quiet outside voices in my head and build conviction in my own ideas, regardless of the noise online.

Less is more. When you pile too much onto your plate, it overflows. Subtraction is the answer to a life of mastery.