Increase

Sometimes I wonder if the concept of being 1% Better is off putting. We are all awesome just as we are this very second, so why do we need to be better if we’re good enough? Then I heard an interview with NFL quarterback Jameis Winston on Pardon My Take. The interview is great and you should listen to it, but the nugget that stuck out to me was that Jamies kept talking about being “men of increase,” or in other words, men who are constantly trying to increase their skills, their lifestyle, their being, all of it. Men of increase. 

This idea has continued to surface for me. I’m at a time in my life where I’m trying not to stress about things that aren’t actually important, which as a Type A person isn’t easy. It’s also hard for me to figure out how to be less Type A while also striving to be 1% better every day (which has been my goal ever since I read about the idea over a decade ago). Can you always be better while doing less? 

Then it hit me: “Increase” isn’t always more. Sometimes less is more. It’s a simple and sometimes cliche saying but it’s true. Our brains struggle to subtract, instead choosing to build on the first idea we have and the subsequent ideas after that. When problem solving, we have one idea, then another, and try to figure out how the two can work together. It’s actually pretty fascinating so I plan on doing a different post on it later, but for today let’s think about subtracting in the framework of increase and being better. 

Sometimes, to increase in anything, we need to first subtract. In astrology, you mentally release what doesn’t serve you at the new moon to make room for more of the energy you want in your life. In Christianity, you give your problems to God to increase your peace of mind. In Buddhism you release your attachment to “self” to decrease suffering and increase ease and contentment. 

So, much of becoming a “person of increase” has to do with making room in our lives for that to happen. Which means I started thinking about all of the possible areas of life where we can release to increase. Time management, relationships, spiritual well-being, finances, health, etc. The list goes on and on and, as always, will be different for everyone. 

Coming back to the thought I opened this with, is it less stressful to sometimes think of being 1% better as constantly increasing? Sometimes (though not always) the answer will be to first take stock of what really matters and what can be released. I’ve mentioned before that I did 75 Hard on a whim two years ago. With six days left, I consciously decided to stop. One of my sisters was like, “You gotta be kidding me.” But I decided to quit because sticking with it was undoubtedly more of a detriment during the last week of my mom’s life than it was a contributor to my life. 

Recently, both of my sisters have encouraged me to stop taking every time commitment, task, etc. so seriously. “Be C+,” they said. By decreasing my “try hard” mentality, I’ve seen a huge uptick in my mental health. I’m less stressed in traffic, I’m less attached to a “to do” list, and strangely, all of that has made me more productive and feel more creatively abundant. 

This week, can you reframe how you think of quantifying being 1% better every day into how you can increase every day? Can you increase your sense of peace, your time spent doing activities you enjoy? Can you increase in an area of your finances that you want to improve? Can you identify areas where you can decrease to increase?

With gratitude,

Natalie