Via Negativa: why doing less makes you stronger
"You improve a system not by adding things, but by removing what makes it fragile". Simplify, subtract, repeat.
Olesea Moraru
4/26/20252 min read
When it comes to improving anything: your product, your health, or even the quality of your life, the real power lies not in adding more, but in removing what doesn’t work.
And the concept is very simple, and I think it’s exactly because it’s so simple that people, myself included, don’t even pay attention to it.
The concept is that when we want to improve something, by default, we are trying to add new things, new processes, new tools, new supplements :)... we are addicted to neomania (the obsession of constantly adding new things). We live with this philosophy that what is new is good and old is bad... which is basically a philosophy you have to invert, because almost everything old is good.
Why? Well... what has survived for a long time is likely to survive longer.
In his book Antifragile, Nassim Nicholas Taleb introduces a powerful idea: time is the ultimate test of strength.
A book or idea that has been read for 3,000 years will probably be read for another 3,000 years...
The thing is that you really improve something not by adding things, but by removing what makes you weak or fragile.
It’s not by adding a new supplement that you become healthier, it’s by removing the junk food.
It’s not about trying to focus more (you cannot do "more focus") it’s about removing all the distractions so that you can focus.
This is exactly what a design audit is about. It’s a process of subtraction, identifying what’s not working and removing it.
When Apple created the first iPhone, it wasn’t about adding more buttons or features, it was about removing.
Jonathan Ive, who was the designer at Apple, was inspired by Braun’s products and Dieter Rams' principles that “Good design eliminates the unnecessary so that the things that are necessary can speak.”
Because removing what doesn’t work is far more powerful than constantly trying to add new “solutions.”
How to apply 'via negativa' in your daily life
Now, how to apply via negativa to your daily life in order to improve the quality:
Say "No" more often, every "yes" is an invitation to complexity.
Anytime something new arises in your life, an invitation to a party, downloading a new app, buy a new thing or to a new product to your business..you have to stop, slow down and think: Is this really necessary? Is this aligned with what I really want to achieve?
You have to practice separating yourself from your emotions, because fast reactions to every stimulus are a dangerous thing.
If you want to move fast long-term, you have to move slowly in the moment. So... when something new arises, force yourself to slow down.
The less you do wrong, the stronger you become.
And this is the philosophy behind Think In Systems. It’s not about creating or adding something new to a business it's about taking a step back looking at what’s not working — clean up all noise and everything that is not aligned, and then rebuild a stronger foundation in order to keep a true identity.