“In anything at all, perfection is finally attained, not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.”
– Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Painters start with a blank canvas. They can add as many brushstrokes, colors, and shapes as they want until their work is complete. Writers begin with a blank sheet of paper (or maybe a blinking cursor on a computer screen). They add words, sentences, paragraphs, and pages until their story is told. Musicians sit at a keyboard or pick up a guitar and blend notes, chords, rhythms, and melodies until their song is finished.
The sculptor is different.
She isn’t finished when there’s nothing left to add.
She’s finished when there’s nothing left to take away.
“The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work. It is already there. I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.”
– Michelangelo
As we begin the second half of the year, maybe it’s time to think like a sculptor.
Instead of asking, “What else should I add?” Maybe we should ask, “What can I remove?“
The unnecessary meeting.The extra commitment.The habit that no longer serves us.The distraction that steals our focus.The obligation we accepted simply because we had trouble saying no.
Sometimes progress doesn’t come from adding more. Sometimes it comes from revealing what was there all along.
Build relationships. Solve problems. Have fun.
Maybe that’s enough.
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