Subtract negatives

Spending money to increase happiness permanently

About ten years ago I purchased a custom mattress. This seemed extremely unnecessary and very costly at the time - but looking back now, it might be one the best purchases I’ve ever made. The hesitation at the time was likely related to cost, or something along the lines of “why does one need to spend so many multiples more than what seems like a very nice bed from a reputable retailer.” Obviously, I was wrong.

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Thinking about it now, this particular purchase seems to remind me more often than I expected, that it is never a bad idea to spend your money on reducing the negative aspects you encounter in your life. I say this specifically as a contrast to the typical approach; Where people spend money to increase the positive aspects in their lives.

As a matter of fact, I’d like to go as far as arguing that spending money on reducing negatives has a better ‘happiness return’ than spending money on acquiring positives - this is because when you don’t like something, you already know you do not like it - so removing this negative is 100% guaranteed to increase happiness!

Allow me to expand on this.

I don’t own a private yacht. I do not recall a single day in my life where I have lamented the fact that I do not own a yacht. Probably the case for so many things… Would I like to own a jet? Sure! In fact I have had the pleasure of using a corporate jet for work many times, and I know firsthand how fun it is to set your own schedule and use private airport terminals. The thing is, I don’t wake up questioning my life choices or feeling disappointed that I do not have a jet at my disposal.

You can also apply this thinking to smaller items like cameras and watches. For the last few years I have spent so many hours watching reviews of the Leica Q2 and Q3 cameras, trying to convince myself I should get one. The thing is, I knew I shouldn’t get one - and have always fought a battle in my head about buying/not buying one - constantly reiterating the message that the happiness I associate with owning this camera will undoubtedly fade pretty quickly (because I know I do not wish to dedicate much time to photography anyway!). I even borrowed my friend’s Q2 and while I enjoyed looking at the images I captured, I wasn’t able to fully take advantage of having the camera at my disposal, and was reassured that purchasing my own was poor use of money for me.

The same goes for SO MANY watches. Instagram doesn’t help either - we see #NWA posts every day, and feel a tiny bit of FOMO. We begin wondering whether we should also try and get one, even though that particular watch may not even have been on our radars at all until that very moment we saw it as someone else’s #NWA. It is a tiring rat race, if you frame it that way.

People make this mistake so often… Jumping on the hedonic treadmill¹ and never finding their way off! Sure, a handful of things give me great pleasure, and bring additional happiness in to my life - but these are more the exception than the rule. More often than not, purchase-related dopamine will fade over time.

This isn’t particularly insightful, I concede - the fact that you’re reading this blog means you probably already question your discretionary spending, and are wiser with your purchase decisions than many others.

Thing is, there’s actually a whole book Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less which talks about the benefits of reducing the negatives in your life to add to the overall quality. In the mattress example, having a restless sleep and waking up tired or with aches is my idea of a living nightmare. I generally sleep for a shorter duration than the average person, and provided the sleep is undisturbed and of a decent quality, it works well. Take that quality away, and I become utterly useless. Therefore, the ability to guarantee a good rest on an epic mattress, is removing a possibility of a future negative (bad sleep due to bad mattress) and this increases my net happiness permanently.

“People systematically overlook opportunities to change the world through subtraction,” —Gabrielle Adams, professor at University of Virginia’s Darden and Batten Schools who has conducted research on the power of subtraction

You could apply this to chores, to waitlisted watches or even private air travel. Some people hate cleaning - and while they could do it themselves and save money, no matter how much money they save, they will never enjoy doing the cleaning (net unhappiness). In this case, the purchase of a cleaning service is guaranteed to increase happiness, right?

Of course, the caveat here is one must be careful not to confuse something which genuinely makes you unhappy, with something that is a general inconvenience which you can pay extra to reduce. If you travel in economy class, that experience is annoying, and you could pay extra and fly in business or first class - but that ends - and nobody I know of reasonably goes around thinking their life sucks because they fly in economy class 2-4 times per year. Cleaning the house is a task for most people to complete (as a household) and so, the frequency of the tasks/duties can reasonably be expected to have a direct impact on your net happiness. Perhaps you disagree, but you’ll have your own version of what qualifies, I’m sure!

The most basic of tests is; “is this a convenience improvement, or a recurring daily problem?” It is convenient that I can order an Uber from my phone, but if I use public transport instead, I don’t actually feel less happy about not being able to have a driver taking me to my destination. Buying a superb mattress isn’t ‘convenient’ - it is paying more for something of a higher quality, and this replaces a constant negative experience with a positive one.

I think there are a handful of things which I would put into this category of ideal areas/items to subtract negatives with:

• A good mattress - you sleep for nearly a third of your life, why would you spend this time on anything less than the best?!

• Comfortable shoes - similar to the mattress, we typically spend a lot of time wearing our shoes - is it really worth sacrificing comfort for aesthetics? At what cost?

• Diet - instead of complicating your daily menu with new items, why not eliminate what is not positively contributing first and see how your health benefits?

• Budget, net income, and free cash flow - in addition to finding ways to make more money, figure out ways to reduce spending too. Liquidity translates to freedom, for most people. How easily you can tell people to “fvck off” is directly related to your financial freedom more often than people care to admit.

• Goals - Look at the root of your goal – what will you achieve by attaining it? You’re the only one who knows why you are pursuing your goals. Try and be brutally honest, then let go of any goals chosen which divide your attention and energy, and possibly prevent you from achieving other more important goals.

• High quality jackets which last for many years (fewer is better imho!)

• Daily to-dos and meetings you attend or initiate

Please add your thoughts in the comments too!

I suppose, by definition, you’ll eventually run out of negatives to remove from your life, at which point you have reached the peak of Mount Happiness (as far as money can buy, anyway). After that, chasing additional happiness by spending money will lead you back on to the hedonic treadmill!

What does this mean for watch collectors? Instead of constantly chasing the next “must-have” piece or falling prey to social media-induced FOMO, collectors might find more satisfaction in curating a thoughtful collection that truly brings joy. Consider:

• Quality over quantity: Invest in fewer, high-quality pieces that genuinely excite you rather than accumulating watches for the sake of it.

• Subtract the negatives: Sell or trade watches that don’t bring you joy or see regular wear. This can reduce decision fatigue and even overall maintenence costs in the hobby (service, insurance etc).

• Focus on personal significance: Choose watches that have meaning to you, rather than those that simply impress others or tick boxes on a ‘collector’s checklist.’ Perhaps tying each to some milestone or life event might help imbue each one with more than just it’s monetary value.

• Beware the hedonic treadmill: Remember that the excitement of a new acquisition often fades. Cultivate appreciation for the watches you already own.

I guess what I am saying is less can truly be more. Curate with purpose and wear with passion. Your collection should tell your story, not what you think others believe your story should be.

1. The Hedonic Treadmill, also known as the Hedonic Adaptation, is a psychological phenomenon that refers to the tendency of humans to return to a relatively stable level of happiness or baseline emotional state after experiencing positive or negative life events. It suggests that major life changes or windfalls do not permanently impact happiness.

The concept of the Hedonic Treadmill is rooted in positive psychology and was popularised by psychologists Philip Brickman and Donald T. Campbell in the 1970s through their research on the lottery winners’ paradox and paraplegics’ adaptation to disability.

The central principle of the Hedonic Treadmill is that individuals often quickly adapt to changes in circumstances, whether positive or negative, and their subjective well-being tends to revert to a baseline level over time. This suggests that external factors have a temporary impact on happiness.

Examples

• Positive Life Events: Winning a lottery, getting a promotion, or buying a new car may initially boost happiness, but individuals tend to adapt, and the initial joy fades.

• Negative Life Events: Conversely, experiencing a breakup or job loss can lead to initial unhappiness, which diminishes with time.

The Hedonic Treadmill concept has significant implications for the pursuit of happiness. It suggests that long-term happiness is less influenced by external circumstances and more by individual disposition, attitude, and habitual ways of thinking. People may overestimate the impact of material gains on their well-being.