WE'RE
WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AN INTERESTING DISCUSSION HERE IF YOU THINK YOU KNOW ONE IS GOOD
TWO IS BETTER OR MAYBE BIGGER
IS BETTER, WELL, IT MAY BE
WRONG. PROFESSOR AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA, AUTHOR
OF THIS NEW BOOK SUBTRACT
THINGS THAT WE SHOULD LOOK INTO
THE SCIENCE OF LESS TO FIND OUR
HAPPINESS. LADY CLOT'S IS
JOINING US THIS MORNING. GOOD
MORNING TO YOU. GOOD MORNING.
SO I'M VERY, VERY EXCITED TO
TALK TO YOU ABOUT THIS BECAUSE
I THINK IT'S SOMETHING WE ALL
THINK YEAH TOO IS BETTER THAN
ONE MORE AND MORE AND MORE.
THAT'S REALLY WHAT SOCIETY IS
KIND OF DONE TO US. BUT LOOKING
AT LESS AND SUBTRACTING IS AN
INTERESTING CONCEPT AND I'M SO
CURIOUS HOW YOU CAME UP WITH
THIS. IT HAS TO DO WITH LEGOS.
PLEASE EXPLAIN. YEAH, YEAH WE
GO RIGHT FROM THE SCIENCE TO
LEGOS. RIGHT. AND SO IS
ACTUALLY LEGOS WITH MY THREE
YEAR OLD SON. SO I'VE GOT A
REPLICA HERE. WE WERE PLAYING
LEGOS AND WE'RE BUILDING A
BRIDGE AND AS YOU CAN SEE HERE
THE PROBLEM WAS THE BRIDGE WAS
IN LEVEL SO I TURNED AROUND TO
GRAB A BLOCK TO ADD TO THE
WATER COLUMN. YEAH. BUT THEN BY
THE TIME I TURNED BACK AROUND
MY THREE YEAR OLD HAD REMOVED A
BLOCK FROM THE LONGER COLUMN TO
MAKE THE LITTLE BRIDGE AND
WE'VE SINCE DONE TENS
OF THOUSANDS OF HOURS
OF RESEARCH ON THIS PHENOMENON
AND WHAT'S HAPPENING IN OUR
BRAINS IS PRETTY SIMILAR TO
WHAT'S HAPPENING IN MY BRAIN
WITH WHAT HAPPENED IN MY BRAIN
WITH THE BRIDGE IS THAT WE
THINK FIRST HEY WHAT CAN I ADD
TO MAKE THIS SITUATION BETTER
AND WHICH ISN'T A PROBLEM
SOMETIMES IT MAKES THINGS
BETTER BUT THE PROBLEM IS WE
THINK OK, WHAT CAN YOU ADD? AND
IF MY SON HADN'T BEEN THERE IN
THAT MOMENT I WOULD HAVE ADDED
AND MOVED ON AND NEVER EVEN
CONSIDERED SUBTRACTING AND IN
SOME OF OUR RESEARCH THAT THAT
FOLLOWED FROM THE FROM THE LEGO
INSPIRATION WE FOUND THAT
PEOPLE DO THIS EVEN WHEN IT'S
DETRIMENTAL, EVEN WHEN
OVERLOOKING SUBTRACTION CAUSES
THEM TO MISS OUT ON THINGS
WHETHER IT'S A BETTER WAY TO
BUILD LEGOS OR WHETHER IT'S A
BETTER WAY TO ORGANIZE YOUR
CALENDAR, WHETHER IT'S A BETTER
WAY TO ORGANIZE THE THOUGHTS
THAT ARE IN YOUR HEAD. THIS
SAME THING CAUSES PEOPLE TO
OVERLOOK OPTIONS THAT WE
OTHERWISE MIGHT CHOOSE. SEE, I
APPRECIATE WHEN KIDS YOU KNOW,
THEY GO MORE SIMPLE AND IT
OPENS OUR EYES TO YOU KNOW WHAT
CAN BE RIGHT. AND I WAS
FLIPPING THROUGH THE BOOK AND
YOU KNOW, YOU GIVE EXAMPLES
WHEN SOMEONE ASKS HOW ARE YOU?
PEOPLE USUALLY SAY OH I'M SO
BUSY I HAVE DO THIS, THIS AND
THIS AND IT'S ALMOST LIKE
SOMETHING THEY'RE PROUD OF .
BUT YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T THINK
THAT'S NECESSARILY SOMETHING WE
SHOULD BE DOING, RIGHT? YEAH. I
MEAN I KNOW I'M KIND AGNOSTIC
ON WHAT WE'RE DOING. I JUST
WANT PEOPLE TO HAVE ALL THEIR
OPTIONS RIGHT. AND SO SO YEAH.
LIKE THAT THAT BUSY TRAP THAT I
TALK ABOUT IN THE BOOK WHERE WE
SEEM TO BE DISPLAYING OUR
COMPETENCE BY SHOWING THAT
WE'RE DOING MORE AND MORE AND
MORE AND MORE STUFF AND THAT'S
KIND OF THE SOCIAL VERSION
OF THE OF THE LEGO BRIDGE RIGHT
WHERE IT'S LIKE OK, WE'RE GOING
TO MAKE IT BETTER AND TO
DISPLAY OUR COMPETENCE WHICH I
THINK IN THIS CASE IN THE CASE
OF BEING BUSY, IT'S LIKE WE
WANT TO SHOW THAT WE'RE
EFFECTIVE AT MAKING CHANGE IN
THE WORLD THAT CAN BE CAN BE
DAMAGING. IT CAN KEEP US FROM
DOING THINGS THAT WE MIGHT
OTHERWISE PREFER. SO HOW DO WE
SUBTRACT I MEAN YOU HAVE THE
SCIENCE TO BACK UP THAT THAT'S
THE YOU KNOW, GOOD IDEA. WHAT
DO WE DO? YEAH, WELL PEOPLE
LIKE YOU ARE HELPING, RIGHT? SO
YOU'RE GETTING THE WORD OUT. I
THINK THE FIRST AND FOREMOST I
THINK IF PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND
THIS TENDENCY THAT WE HAVE TO
TO ADD FIRST THEN YOU CAN THINK
ABOUT OK, WELL HOW DO I BREAK
THAT TENDENCY? I MEAN THE
REASON I WROTE THE BOOK WAS TO
HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT AND
HELP PEOPLE KIND OF REARRANGE
THEIR MENTAL FURNITURE SO THAT
THEY THINK OF SUBTRACTING IN
MORE OF THESE AND MORE OF THESE
AREAS OF THEIR LIVES. SO THAT'S
THE KIND OF PHILOSOPHICAL VIEW
.BUT I MEAN HOW DO WE SUBTRACT
YOU KNOW, MAYBE THINK ABOUT
ADDING AND SUBTRACTING? I MEAN
ONE OF THE DAMAGING THINGS IS
WE KIND PUT THESE THINGS PUT
THESE TWO OPTIONS AS OPPOSITES
OR IN THIS BINARY THINKING THAT
IT'S EITHER AND AND OR SUBTRACT
.RIGHT. AND SO WE ADD
SOMETHING THAT MADE SOMETHING
BETTER AND THEN WE DON'T THINK
WE THINK OK, WELL THAT MEANS WE
CAN'T SUBTRACT TO MAKE BETTER
AND IN FACT THESE ARE
COMPLEMENTARY APPROACHES TO
MAKE THINGS BETTER. I MEAN I
WAS LISTENING TO THE THE
SEGMENT YOU TALKED ABOUT BEFORE
AND YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT
TRAFFIC IN SAN DIEGO AND AND
OPENING THE OPENING THE
RESTAURANT SO THAT PEOPLE CAN
HAVE PERMANENT OUTDOOR DINING.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, PART OF THAT
IS MAYBE WHAT WE WANT TO ADD
CAPACITY TO FREEWAYS IN SOME
PLACES AND MAYBE IN OTHER
PLACES WE WANT TO TAKE AWAY CAR
LANES TO PROVIDE OUTDOOR DINING
AND YOU I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S
RIGHT IN EVERY SPECIFIC
SITUATION BUT I DO KNOW WE NEED
TO THINK ABOUT ADDING AND
SUBTRACTING AS AS COMPLEMENTARY
WAYS TO TO MAKE CHANGE. OK, SO
IT'S NOT ALWAYS THINGS
SUBTRACTIVE OR AD FIRST THERE
ARE OPTIONS. YEAH THERE'S I
MEAN I THINK YOU CAN'T GO WRONG
THINKING SUBTRACT FIRST BECAUSE
OUR NATURAL TENDENCY RIGHT IS
TO THINK AT FIRST AND IF YOU
THINK AT FIRST YOU MIGHT JUST
ADD AND MOVE ON AND NOT
CONSIDER SUBTRACTION I DON'T
THINK IF YOU THINK SUBTRACT
FIRST IT'S NOT LIKE YOU'RE
GOING TO FORGET THE ADDING IS
AN OPTION. SO THAT'S A GOOD
KIND OF FIRST STEP IS JUST OK,
WHAT CAN I TAKE AWAY FROM THIS
SITUATION AS A AS A FIRST
CONSIDERATION? I'D I'M CURIOUS
FOR YOUR LIFE TOO. I MEAN YOUR
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR YOU KNOW,
YOU GOT A LOT GOING ON. SO
WHERE HAVE YOU NOTICED THE
BIGGEST DIFFERENCE WHEN YOU DO
SUBTRACT FIRST? HAVE YOU
NOTICED IMPROVEMENT IN YOUR OWN
LIFE MEETINGS AND EMAIL?
DEFINITELY. AND AGAIN IN THE
PROCESS OF WRITING THE BOOK AND
JUST LIKE THINKING ABOUT MY OWN
LIFE, A REALLY SPECIFIC
PRACTICE I STARTED USING WAS
STOPPED DOING SO WHEN I WAS
DOING MY WEEKLY TO DO LIST I
WOULD SAY OK, WHAT ARE THINGS
THAT I CAN STOP DOING AND THIS
IS DIFFERENT THAN THINGS THAT I
WOULD SAY NO TO. THAT'S JUST
THE YOU'RE NOT ADDING BUT TO
STOP DOING IS LIKE HEY I'M
CHECKING MY EMAIL FOUR TIMES A
DAY AND TRYING TO RESPOND TO
ALL OF THEM. CAN I SUBTRACT
THOSE TWO MIDDAY EMAIL CHECKS
AND WOULD THAT MAKE MY MY WORK
LIFE BETTER? I LIKE THAT IDEA
STOPPED DOING LIST. YES. THANK
YOU LADY. GOOD LUCK. THANK YOU
FOR SHARING YOUR INSIGHTS.
SUBTRACT AND CONGRATS ON YOUR
BOOK. WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOU
TAKING THE TIME TO EXPLAIN IT
TO US. THANKS ED. APPRECIATE
YOUR SHARING OF COURSE
OF