Everyone’s Selling You More. What If The Answer Was Always Less?

I want you to think about the last time something in your life wasn’t working.

Maybe you weren’t sleeping well. Or you’d stopped exercising. Or your stress was through the roof and your eating had gone to shit. Or you were drinking too much.

What was the first thing you did?

I’ll guess: you tried to add something.

An app. A new routine. A supplement. A 30-day challenge. A habit tracker. A course. A podcast. A cleanse. A book.

Because that’s what we all do, right? Every single time.

Something’s not working, so we add. More structure. More tools. More effort. More systems. More discipline.

Nobody’s first instinct is to remove something.

Nobody looks at their busy life and thinks, “You know what would help? Less.”

There’s actually a name for this: additive bias.

Researchers at the University of Virginia found that when people solve problems, they default to adding rather than subtracting, even when removing something would be simpler, cheaper, and more effective (reference).

We’re literally wired to add. Which explains why you have 10 wellness apps on your phone and still feel like shit. Why your morning routine has 8 steps but you can’t get through step 3. Why you’ve bought the supplements, the journal, the running shoes, the meditation app, the meal prep containers, and yet here you are, googling “how to build better habits” at 11pm on a Tuesday.

It’s not that you’re not trying hard enough. You’re trying too much. Of the wrong things.

Hey! I'm Noemie Wellbeing by Design for burned-out overachievers allergic to self-help BS. Evidence-based habits, mindset shifts and real talk from a Former Queen of Bad Habits. No toxic trends or wellness hustle, just science, soul, and a little bit of chaos ⚡️ Did someone forward you this email? ​ ​Subscribe here​

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