# Why Growth Is More About Subtraction Than Addition | DIVO-Ted Talks

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/divo-ted-talks-7078694/why-growth-is-more-about-subtraction-than-addition-divo-ted-talks.md
Podcast: [DIVO- TED Talks](https://stenobird.com/podcast/divo-ted-talks-7078694)
Published: 2026-08-28T15:11:00+00:00
Episode link: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nicholas-wade-kimps/episodes/Why-Growth-Is-More-About-Subtraction-Than-Addition--DIVO-Ted-Talks-e3nuj8g
Audio file: https://anchor.fm/s/f5806128/podcast/play/124783312/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2026-7-26%2F430607850-44100-2-f81f3f8aa2329.m4a
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/divo-ted-talks-7078694/episodes/why-growth-is-more-about-subtraction-than-addition-divo-ted-talks
Duration seconds: 699

## Resource

Sometimes becoming more of yourself has nothing to do with adding more. Sometimes the work is subtraction. Chiseling away what no longer belongs until what has always been there can finally be seen. ——————— Quote from the Episode: “Yoga and Ayurveda are the tools through which we can slowly chisel away at things that we have accumulated, things that we have held on to, or become crystallized in.” ——————— DESCRIPTION: What if personal growth is less about becoming someone new and more about removing everything that keeps you from recognizing who you already are? In this episode, Nicholas explores self-mastery through the metaphor of sculpture. Our beliefs, habits, expectations, and accumulated experiences can become crystallized over time, shaping the way we perceive ourselves and the world. Some of those layers support us. Others may need to be gently chipped away. Through the lens of yoga, Ayurveda, self-awareness, and lived experience, Nicholas reflects on recurring lessons, confidence, failure, grief, and the ways experience slowly tempers us. The goal is not to become perfect. It is to see more clearly, respond with greater wisdom, and become increasingly familiar with the simple truth beneath all the labels: “I am.” This conversation is an invitation to stop piling more onto yourself and begin asking what can be released. Sometimes the masterpiece is already there. The practice is learning what no longer needs to remain. ——————— A Map of Wisdom: Here are some of the places we go together in this talk: ✦ Why recurring lessons may be chiseling away old beliefs ✦ Growth as subtraction rather than constant accumulation ✦ How rigid beliefs shape the way we experience life ✦ Confidence, preparation, and learning to trust yourself ✦ Why mistakes can become information in…

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