Michelangelo, Zen Cups, and the Power of Subtracting Things From Your Life

Welcome to Letters of Wonder — a space to explore the truths behind clarity, creation, and what it means to live a truly wonderful life.

When they asked Michelangelo how he made his statue of David, he is reported to have said:

Michelangelo didn’t sculpt David by adding.

He revealed him by subtracting what wasn’t.

In this essay, I want to break down this concept of “less is more”.

The Secret to Finding Answers

We think change comes from discovering some big secret.

The one podcast, the perfect routine, the next hack.

But let’s be real.

We don’t have a shortage of information.

We have a massive surplus of it. I know this because I do social media full-time.

And in seconds, you can scroll through 20 life-changing ideas.

But without space to live them, they just pile up in your head and you have no idea what to do.

So you watch some more. And still don’t do anything.

Here’s the thing.

Most of us probably don’t need more content.

We need room to breathe and integrate what we learned.

(okay if you really do want more, I’m dropping something in 1 week: 24 truths I’ve lived by at 24)

Until then, maybe don’t add another idea.

Maybe just give yourself permission to live the ones you already know.

And to create that room, we start by letting go.

Not adding more, but subtracting what no longer serves us.

And interestingly, we begin to find the answers.

How Subtracting Helped Me Build a Business

I used to always chase:

• More routines.

• More YouTube videos.

• More transformation hacks.

But all it did was fog my brain and steal my energy.

Until one day I realized:

To illustrate this, I’ll give you a real example.

When I first started my business (Trendify), I thought I had to learn how to be more confident.

I’d jump on meetings and try to act confident, but for some reason, it just felt off.

And I’d wonder, how were some of these people so confident?

So I watched videos and studied charisma. I practiced what to say on calls.

But it all felt forced. Kinda like I was layering techniques on top of insecurity.

But like I said, there’s only so much information you can grasp at once.

I found myself binging 100 videos and picking up nothing.

And that’s when I realized something: Confidence wasn’t something I had to add.

It was something I had to unlearn.

I didn’t need more scripts.

All I needed to let go of the habits that blocked my natural presence.

Things like:

1. Overthinking

2. Trying to sound impressive

3. Anticipating what others would think

Once I slowly stopped doing that… the space that opened up felt uncomfortable at first.

I’d sit there on a Zoom call, blank, unsure of what to say.

But over time, something shifted.

I started listening more and speaking slower.

And that space led me to realize what I actually needed to say.

And it’s not because I became someone new.

I just subtracted what I wasn’t.

The Void Is Real, But Don’t Run From It

I was listening to a podcast on living more purposefully, and one part hit me hard.

The hosts said something like:

And here’s the part that stuck with me:

The real challenge isn’t quitting the habit.

It’s sitting in the void that follows.

The silence and boredom you feel when you stop.

Because you have no idea what to do.

And most people run back to what’s comfortable just to escape it.

But if you can wait, then you’ll start to align with what truly lights you up.

That’s the path.

We just avoid it because… we are addicted to feeling good.

And so our brain tricks us by flooding dopamine, which eventually leaves you empty.

The Jungle Analogy (Finding the Treasure)

Making Space For What Aligns

When I stopped trying to appear confident, I felt lost.

But that void led to me approaching from a place of presence.

And that helped me really grow my business.

It’s not easy to subtract things in your life.

• That relationship you’ve outgrown.

• The job that pays well but sucks your soul.

• The app you scroll when you’re bored.

It’s hard.

Because all these things still bring you pleasure.

But deep down, they may not be really fulfilling you.

We try to numb ourselves by adding more.

• More caffeine to mask exhaustion.

• More content to avoid silence.

• More people to fill the void of real connection.

• More ambition to outrun the fear of being still.

But real peace doesn't come from adding more things.

It comes from subtracting - until only what’s true remains.

Dopamine feels good in the moment. But it blurs the real figure underneath.

The more you chase it, the harder it becomes to see who you really are.

That’s why real growth doesn’t feel like addition

At first, it feels like loss.

You might lose friends, direction and even what used to feel like “fun.”

It becomes quiet and even boring.

But if you can stay there just a little longer - that space becomes your compass.

And what’s truly meant for you will start to slowly appear.

Now, you may be thinking.

Isn’t that adding?

But here’s the thing:

Even though making space eventually adds something to your life, it won’t feel like addition.

It’ll just be a remembering of what was always yours.

The Zen Fable (Empty Your Cup)

This Week, Try Subtracting

Try removing:

• 1 distraction

• 1 dopamine trap

• 1 false identity

And just watch what appears in its place.

Because the life you want isn’t waiting in some future version of you.

It’s sitting just beneath the noise.

You just need to reveal it.