Radical Reduction™: An Initial Action for When Life Gets Overwhelming
“Create the Break You Can’t Catch”
Simplify to amplify is the mantra that entrepreneur powerhouse and author Marie Forleo has reiterated time and again in her interviews and articles. She states that “simplifying is almost always the answer if you want to decrease stress and fatigue while increasing results.” Simplifying give us the space much needed to move forward.
Yet, as author Leidy Klotz clearly illustrates in his book, Subtract: The Untapped Science of Less, and through the experiments conducted, subtraction is not our go-to response to problems. Normally, our default reaction is to add. If you’re looking to create the break you need, start with clearing the path by doing less.
What is radical Reduction™?
Radical Reduction™ is a narrowing of focus to the fundamentals. You catapult yourself into action to deal with an immediate need. It’s a surge, but instead of doing more, you do less. And as mentioned, you do less, better. Radical Reduction™ is a complete overhaul that includes finances, health, social, environment, and knowledge in times of immediate need. That said, you can do a mini reduction at any point with any of these areas, as shown later in this article.
Step 1: Create Space
First, we create space by giving ourselves permission to narrow our focus on our foundational needs and response to the event only. Start with a self-check against the bottom two tiers of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs; Physiological Needs and Safety Needs.
Step 2: Ruthlessly Eliminate
The second step was to eliminate everything outside of those needs. Life is different right now and we need to adjust expectations. We can give ourselves permission to cancel everything except what is absolutely necessary to our physiological and safety needs. Be ruthless about it. You no longer need to show up for that family gathering or social event. Toss the old ideology of keeping up with the Joneses out the window and sell whatever you need to stay afloat. You get to rip up that self-imposed rule book.
Step 3: Discover Resources
The next step is to look at how you can address those foundational needs. Write out all possibilities, even if you think they aren’t options for you. This part takes some humility to match the need with all possible avenues, many of which may require asking for help from friends, family, and organizations.
Step 4: Hold Ground
The last step is to make it happen and stay in that reduced state until the foundation was solid once again. When I did a large scale Radical Reduction™ in 2019 with a focus on finances, this meant cancelling subscriptions, renegotiating plans, talking with the bank, looking at my mortgage, applying to aid programs, selling whatever wasn’t an absolute need or sentimental value even if it was at a loss, selling my home, and moving in with family for eighteen months. Then I did it again after losing my job in 2023 with an insane 6 day pivot.
“…simplifying is almost always the answer if you want to decrease stress and fatigue while increasing results.” –Marie Forleo
Radical Reduction™ on finances
What this can look like:
drastically changes in spending and earning
perhaps ditching the multiple streams of income and going all in on one or using multiple streams of income temporarily to eliminate debt, boost emergency funds or increase investments
using what you have available, like skills, stuff, and resources, to get out of a financial crisis
Read how to build your financial buffer here (link will be added as the articles are published).
Radical Reduction™ on health
What this can look like:
revamping your calendar and daily tasks
ditching optimization overwhelm for mastering the basics
Read how to build your health buffer here (link will be added as the articles are published).
Radical Reduction™ on knowledge
What this can look like:
reducing the amount of information you take in and increasing the quality
learning and implementing in seasons
tailoring your social media to help versus hinder
Read how to build your knowledge buffer here (link will be added as the articles are published).
Radical Reduction™ on social:
What this can look like:
audits and changes to personal and professional social circles
identifying community and organizational groups that support goals
Read how to build your social buffer here (link will be added as the articles are published).
Radical Reduction™ on environment:
creating a functional space that supports your future
removing the weight of having too much stuff
re-evaluating foundational needs
Read how to build your environmental buffer here (link will be added as the articles are published).
Why it works
It gives you the space to take action. It puts existing habits and beliefs into question. It re-aligns you with building a strong foundation to support your goals.
Radical Reduction™ After Action
After completing an Radical Reduction™ taking the time to explore how and why you got to the point of needing one. Was it your habits, your past, an unexpected life events, lack of buffers? Journal, talk it over with a therapist, or seek the advice of a mentor.
Start following experts on social media in the area you want to improve. Listen to podcasts. Read books on the subject that you can implement. Take a deep dive in improving life.
Move forward with less stress, healthier coping strategies, and enough self compassion to do this again if you find yourself back at the start.
Create accountability and buy in
Do it with friends. That’s it. Talk about it. Try it together.
Let me know your results!
Feel free to tag me on Instagram or email hello@vickiemlanthier.com with your adventures in Radical Reduction™ and feedback.
What’s next?
This article on Radical Reduction™ is part of a series on building buffers, a concept aimed at increasing resilience and personal agency when faced with adversity. The new High Agency Human™ challenge was created to increase the manageability of life’s hurdles.
I need your help!
What do you think of the name Radical Reduction™? I’m not a fan of it, but it seems to stick with the audience and I haven’t come up with anything better. Do you have any recommendations or like the framework name as is? How does it make you feel? Let me know! Either email hello@vickiemlanthier or send a DM on Instagram.
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Sign up for the High Agency Human™ wait list so that you’re among the first to take the challenge. This website page will also be updated as the challenge and resources are developed.
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