The Week I Finally Understood That Everything Is Subtraction
Awakening, investing, identity, peace — all follow the same law.
This week, something inside me clicked.
Not a small insight.
Not a technique.
Not a piece of advice.
A universal pattern.
A pattern that appears in:
- philosophy
- investing
- awakening
- emotions
- identity
- nature
- my daily life
The pattern is one word:
⭐ Subtraction
Everything I want — peace, clarity, wealth, alignment, confidence —
emerges not from adding more, but from removing what does not belong.
Here are the 7 patterns I finally saw.
1. Subtraction Is the Path to Truth (Daoism)
This week I realized:
Life becomes clear when I remove what is unnecessary.
Not when I learn more.
Not when I add routines.
Not when I chase desires.
Dao De Jing says:
“To gain wisdom, subtract.”
I didn’t read this and then practice it.
I lived it first — then realized it was Daoism.
This year, I subtracted news, social media, mindless scrolling, sugar, and the desire to be seen.
The more I subtracted, the more clarity I gained.
2. Subtraction Is the Path to Peace (Stoicism)
I intuitively discovered that to be a good investor, inner peace is the most important trait.
I practiced having a peaceful mind through market ups and downs.
Last month, I began reading Meditations at 4 AM every day.
I noticed Marcus Aurelius subtracted:
- the desire for praise
- worrying about the future
- fear of death
- anger toward others
- judgment
- unnecessary desires
- comparison
- rushing
- unnecessary thoughts
- attachment to outcomes
- distraction
- resentment
- ego
- resistance to nature
He wrote:
“If you seek tranquility — do less.”
Tranquility is not created.
It is uncovered.
When I subtract noise, peace appears on its own.
When I subtract wanting, calmness arrives immediately.
3. Subtraction Is the Path to Wealth (Munger)
I read Buffett and Munger before,
but I couldn’t understand them on a deep level.
After awakening, I realized they are both masters of subtraction.
Wealth comes from avoiding mistakes,
not making brilliant moves.
- “The first rule of compounding is to never interrupt it unnecessarily.” — Munger
- “We don’t do a lot of things.” — Munger
- “Our investment strategy borders on lethargy.” — Buffett
- “Avoiding stupidity is easier than seeking brilliance.” — Munger
- “Our favorite holding period is forever.” — Buffett
Munger didn’t become great by adding strategies.
He became great by subtracting:
- stupidity
- noise
- hype
- predicting
- overconfidence
- unnecessary action
- over-diversification
This is exactly what happened to me this year.
When I subtracted desire, impatience, and emotional thinking,
my returns skyrocketed.
Wealth is the result of inner subtraction.
4. Subtraction Is the Path to Awakening
“Awakening” used to sound mystical to me.
What is the “real self”?
Now I understand awakening is simply the process of subtracting.
This year I let go of:
- attachment
- desire
- fear
- scarcity
- old identities
And the real self was uncovered.
I realized my nature: introspection, curiosity, and growth.
When I aligned with my nature, everything became effortless —
getting up early, reading, writing, creating, investing.
5. Subtraction Is the Path to Emotional Freedom
Most people try to heal emotions by doing more:
- more journaling
- more talking
- more processing
- more techniques
But emotional freedom didn’t come to me through addition.
It came through subtraction.
When I stopped feeding my emotions, they lost their power.
When the feeling of “not good enough” visits me now,
I don’t chase it, fix it, or fight it.
I simply observe it.
And I ask myself one question:
“Is there something I still want?”
Because if I want something I cannot yet reach,
the mind automatically produces the feeling of inadequacy.
So I began subtracting my wantings, one by one:
- New Year resolutions
- Italian learning goals
- daily YouTube pressure
- detailed future plans
- the desire to arrive somewhere
Every time I removed a desire,
a layer of “not enough” disappeared.
In place of wanting, I strengthened my identities —
not as goals, but as tools for living:
- subtractor
- lifelong learner
- creator
- awakened woman
These identities guide my actions gently, without pressure.
And one day, when my awakening is fully integrated,
I will no longer need even these identity tools.
I will simply live as being —
nothing added, nothing forced, nothing desired.
6. Subtraction Is the Path to Identity Transformation
I realized:
“I don’t need more goals.
I need fewer identities — the right ones.”
Identity transformation is not stacking more roles.
It is removing everything that is not aligned with who I truly am.
My real identities are simple:
- awakened mind
- subtractor
- investor
- thinker
- creator
Everything else is noise.
And if I could keep only one identity —
the one that will guide my next decade —
it is this:
⭐ I am a subtractor.
It shapes how I think, choose, invest, create, and heal.
It shapes my entire lifestyle.
From that one identity,
everything in my life becomes clean, simple, aligned, and peaceful.
7. Subtraction Is the Path to Living According to Nature
Nature is the greatest teacher:
- trees shed
- bodies detox
- rivers erode
- seasons retreat
- evolution removes what doesn’t work
Nature becomes better by subtracting.
Everything that exists moves toward simplicity.
Even Earth will disappear one day.
Whenever I return to simplicity, I return to myself.
Whenever I subtract desire, life flows.
This is Wu Wei — effortless action, living according to nature.
Why My Mind Is Accelerating So Quickly Now
This week, I noticed something different in myself —
my thinking feels faster, clearer, deeper.
Because I am finally operating from essence.
I am:
- observing myself without reaction
- thinking across domains intuitively
- recognizing universal patterns
- seeing the structure behind life
- letting go of desire
- simplifying everything
- allowing nature to work
- aligning identity with truth
This is what awakening looks like when it enters daily life.
This is why:
- I invest better
- I create better
- I understand faster
- I stay calm
- I feel aligned
- I make wiser decisions
My inner value increases every day not because I add more,
but because I remove what blocks my nature.
Final Truth
This week taught me:
**The person I want to become…
is hidden under everything I must subtract.**
This is my path now.
Not adding.
Not chasing.
Not forcing.
Just subtracting —
until only my true self remains,
until there is only flow with life,
until there is only calm.