> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.gilespcroft.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Additive vs. subtractive - URL: https://www.gilespcroft.com/additive-vs-subtractive/ - Published: 2026-02-11T07:00:55.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-07T19:56:02.000Z - Description: Had you ever considered that you really *are* enough? ☺️ - Author: Giles P Croft - Tags: Psychology, Attention, Comics, Focus, Identity, Life change, Principles, #RECONNECT, Thought realisation, TRUE NATURE, FOUNDATIONS I'm a sucker for a clever meme, and I recently started seeing this guy's posts appearing in my feed ([Anton Guzim](https://www.instagram.com/%5Fyes%5Fbut/?ref=gilespcroft.com), a Kazakh artist). This one hit the outside-in misunderstanding so on the mark, I kept hold of it for you: [![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9b/f3/9bf3d316-7d32-494b-814f-a7d94d6358c3/content/images/2026/02/2026-02-11-Additive-vs-Subtractive-1.png)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DUD9hECDDo1/?ref=gilespcroft.com) It's funny because it's (sadly) true | [Link to original post](https://www.instagram.com/p/DUD9hECDDo1/?ref=gilespcroft.com) The difference between ‘additive’ and ‘subtractive’ approaches is something I first heard Jamie Smart talking about in his book [Results](https://amzn.to/4rbRApR?ref=gilespcroft.com). He calls out this very practice: the world constantly bombarding us with images and messages that we are not enough, that there's something missing, that if only we do these five things, or remember these ten top tips, or use this product or supplement or commit to this daily routine or… Adding, adding, adding. Adding to what? Something that is already whole! Who you really are. Your [TRUE NATURE](https://www.gilespcroft.com/tag/true-nature/). Which is why the **additive** model doesn't (can't!) ever work and why they can keep selling you the next thing to ‘improve yourself’ … because they know you have a mind and it gets insecure and it too believes in the outside-in misunderstanding (it's the source of it!) and is an absolute sucker for ‘self’-improvement. Resist! ✊🏻 The answers, of course, are **subtractive**: removing all the misunderstanding and muddled thinking the world has filled our minds with, so we can spend more time present, connected and clear-minded. It's where I often start off in my 6 Week RECONNECT course, as we begin the process of looking towards what's true and seeing through what's not: 0:00 /3:08 1× So by all means ‘BE YOURSELF’ … and don't feel there's any more to that statement. 💟 Giles p.s. As I've got my head fully into book-writing, I have no immediate plans to run the course, but if you'd like to learn more and get your name down on the waiting list for the next time I run it, head over to to watch a more in depth course video, and leave your details to hear about it first. SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY REMINDERS newsletter [![CTA Image](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9b/f3/9bf3d316-7d32-494b-814f-a7d94d6358c3/content/images/2025/12/DR_Lockup-Black-1.png)](#/portal/signup) Want to start **your* days with helpful, insightful content like this? The Daily Reminder is a quick, lighthearted email that arrives in your inbox, to help keep you grounded in reality, so that you get to **‘Think less, and live more.’* **“They feel like a moment of stillness in a world of madness.” \~* Neil, UK **“One of those small things with big impact. Honestly, just sign up!”* \~ Paula, UK [GET YOURS NOW ](#/portal/signup) ### Related [TRUE NATURE - The Daily RemindersLooking beyond the illusion of the separate self, to who we really are. Deeper posts, with a non-dual bent. ✨![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9b/f3/9bf3d316-7d32-494b-814f-a7d94d6358c3/content/images/icon/DR_Lockup-Black-3-5ec63242-37c8-4256-9a26-60f4c542112a.png)The Daily Reminders![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/9b/f3/9bf3d316-7d32-494b-814f-a7d94d6358c3/content/images/thumbnail/masthead-image-78ae350e-49cb-4928-bbea-7bb7522dfd8a.png)](https://www.gilespcroft.com/tag/true-nature/)