Monday, November 17, 2025

Subtraction

I don’t know about you, but I often feel a tremendous amount of pressure. Professionally, people are counting on me to do a good job. Personally, my family, friends, and the organizations I support want me to deliver consistently. I also have my own goals and aspirations that get added to the long list I’m already managing.

That feels like a lot.

What can I subtract? At first I thought it would be a series of hard decisions about what to drop.

Acutally, it’s been quite the opposite. I’ve added things that help me understand my long list much differently.

I’ve locked into a morning routine that has made a tremendous difference.
  • Up at 4:00am
  • Gym
  • Walk
  • Prayer
  • Scripture
  • Daily bible study
  • Attempt to learn Italian for fun

Then my work day begins.


It may sound counter-intuitive to add to my day instead of deleting to ‘simplify everything.’ Candidly, it is. Yet the results have been important and meaningful.

I have dropped a few things to make room for my mental health though, including:
- slowing down on overcommitting
- removing the need to be constantly busy or active or achieving results every minute
- allowing others opinions of me to get much less headspace 

I’m adding another important piece shortly…more on that later. For now, I’m curious, how do you manage the pressures in your life?

Thanks for being here.

Jay



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