Via Negativa
This term was originally used in Christian theology to describe what God isn’t in order to understand what God is. But it soon evolved to beyond theology and became nothing about religion. I was introduced to this term when Nassim Taleb used it in his book which opened me up to this ‘removing the bad’ mental model. Once this worldview was activated, I started to realise many others from Warren Buffett to Bruce Lee have been emphasising it all along.
(Excerpt from Antifragile by Nassim Taleb) If true wealth consists in worriless sleeping, clear conscience, reciprocal gratitude, absence of envy, good appetite, muscle strength, physical energy, frequent laughs, no...
December 14, 2019|
Via Negativa
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(Excerpt from Atomic Habits by James Clear) Energy is precious, and the brain is wired to conserve it whenever possible. It is human nature to follow the Law of Least Effort, which states that when deciding between two...
October 26, 2019|
Resistance, Via Negativa
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(Excerpt from Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon) The right constraints can lead to your very best work. My favorite example? Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat with only 236 different words, so his editor bet him he...
September 30, 2019|
Via Negativa
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(Excerpt from Barking Up the Wrong Tree by Eric Barker) Another study, titled “Tell Me What I Did Wrong,” showed that a shift takes place when people are on the path to expertise. Novices seek and need positive...
September 20, 2019|
Inversion, Life, Via Negativa
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(Excerpt from The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson) The point is this: we all must give a fuck about something, in order to value something. And to value something, we must reject what is not that...
September 19, 2019|
Life, Via Negativa
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(Excerpt from The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson) Most of our beliefs are wrong. Or, to be more exact, all beliefs are wrong—some are just less wrong than others. We shouldn’t seek to find the...
September 19, 2019|
Inversion, Life, Via Negativa
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(Excerpt from Barking Up the Wrong Tree by Eric Barker) We love having choices. We hate making choices. Having choices means having possibilities. Making choices means losing possibilities. And having so many choices...
September 18, 2019|
Focus, Via Negativa
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In 1994, Charlie Munger was addressing a crowd at University of Southern California. (Extract from James Clear) When Warren lectures at business schools, he says, “I could improve your ultimate financial welfare...
September 8, 2019|
Focus, Investing, Via Negativa
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(Excerpt from KindSpring) A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and...
September 8, 2019|
Life, Via Negativa
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“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m...
September 8, 2019|
Focus, Via Negativa
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