What are the three most painful negatives in your life? The three you feel most frequently? The three you feel most acutely? The three you were just thinking about? What smaller pleasures could you trade away to mitigate or eliminate those negatives?

Removing negatives can have rather stronger impacts on your happiness than adding positives. If given the choice, would you rather have brand new socks or get rid of that pebble in your shoe? Eat a delicious meal or get rid of that stomach ache? Buy that beautiful painting or get that smoke out of your eyes? It’s often cheaper, too, especially in the long run.

Time to hop off of that hedonic treadmill and put in the much more painful but far briefer and much more effective reps on the deadlifts of resolution. Your body, your mind, and your wallet will thank you.