#ForgAI A friend, Lao K, recently invited me for tea.
He is the most 'competitive' person I know, and also the one who is most willing to 'invest' in himself.
In his forties, running a thriving company, but he seems like a wrung-out sponge, ready to drip with fatigue at any moment.
As soon as he sat down, he took out several bottles and jars from his Hermès bag and placed them on the tea table.
What Australian liver supplements, American Coenzyme Q10, Japanese natto kinase, German multivitamins… colorful, like a pile of expensive jelly beans.
He skillfully twisted off the bottle caps, poured out a few pills, and swallowed them with warm water.
After completing the ritual, he let out a long sigh of relief, as if he had just given a boost to his life.
He said, "It's no use. My energy has been declining drastically lately. I get sleepy as early as 3 PM, and my mind feels like a complete mess." He consulted the most famous traditional Chinese medicine doctor in Beijing, who prescribed a formula costing several thousand yuan. He drank it for half a month, but it didn't work. He then consulted a nutritionist at a private hospital, spending tens of thousands of yuan on a full set of tests, supplementing whatever he was deficient in—just all those bottles and jars.
He pointed to the pile of "energy capsules" and asked me: "Do you think there's anything even more potent? Himalayan cordyceps, wild ginseng from Changbai Mountain—anything that can replenish my energy is worth any price."
I looked at him; his eyes were dark-rimmed, his lips were pale, and there was a deep sense of exhaustion in his gaze.
I've seen this situation far too many times.
This kind of "high-quality fatigue" permeates many so-called elites and "kings of books".
They use the most expensive eye cream and stay up the latest at night.
They eat the healthiest organic salads and drink the strongest liquor.
They put on face masks costing thousands of yuan, but stare at their phone screens, wasting their energy until two or three in the morning.
Their lives are like a computer equipped with top-of-the-line components, but running hundreds of high-energy-consuming programs in the background at the same time.
No matter how powerful your CPU, how much RAM, or how good your graphics card, there's only one result: lag, overheating, and eventually, a system crash.
Instead of answering his question directly, I told him about something I had seen in the countryside a few days ago.
I went back to my hometown in northern Anhui and stayed in a relative's farmhouse.
There are two speckled chickens in the yard, which are raised very well.
One of them was a young rooster that crowed before dawn every day, proud and spirited, with feathers as glossy as satin. It chased the hens all over the yard, full of boundless energy.
The other is an old hen that I've raised for seven or eight years. It no longer lays eggs and spends its days dozing in the corner. Some of its feathers have fallen out, and its eyes are dull.
My relative feeds the chickens every day with a big bowl of corn kernels, vegetable leaves, and small insects mixed together.
The young rooster is extremely strong. Every time, it pushes the old hen aside, eats until its belly is round, and then pecks at it a few more times.
The old hen couldn't compete with the rooster, so she could only wait until the rooster had finished eating before pecking at the leftovers.
I asked my relative, "This old hen isn't getting enough to eat, will it starve to death? Should we give it a special meal?"
My relative grinned and said something that made me think for a long time.
He said that if it ate like that young man, it would die much faster!
He explained that young chickens have high energy and strong digestive abilities; what they eat can be transformed into vital energy and blood, supporting them to run, jump, and crow.
An old hen is like a stove that's been used for a long time; the fire has already weakened. If you force a pile of wet firewood (greasy, hard-to-digest food) into it, the tiny flame will not only fail to ignite the firewood but will also suffocate.
The way it is now, it eats a couple of bites when it's hungry and rests when it's not, is actually the best way to feed it.
I told this story to Old K.
I said, your problem now is not that you have too little "energy", but that the machine you use to process "energy" has been running overload for too long.
Your spleen and stomach are like that old hen's stove.
You eat delicacies every day, including large amounts of meat and fish, and you also ingest so many high-concentration "energy supplements," thinking you're giving your body a boost.
In reality, you're adding wet firewood to a stove that's about to go out.
In order to digest these things that far exceed its capacity, your body needs to mobilize a lot of energy and blood to work overtime.
Every time you feel "full and energetic," it's actually an illusion.
That's not energy from food, but rather you've overdrawn your deeper energy reserves (what Traditional Chinese Medicine calls "vital energy") to cope with this "digestion battle."
After the war ended, what remained was not morale and spirit, but a devastated battlefield and a deeper sense of exhaustion.
So, why do I feel sleepy at 3 pm?
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Small Intestine Meridian is most active between 1-3 PM and the Bladder Meridian is most active between 3-5 PM. This period is the peak time for the body's digestion and absorption, and also a crucial time for detoxification.
Your lavish lunch forces your body to mobilize all its energy to work overtime for your digestive system at this time.
The brain will naturally suffer from insufficient blood and oxygen supply, so it's no wonder you feel sleepy.
This is a type of "food intoxication," also known as Food Coma.
You might think you're just feeling sleepy because you're full, but it's actually your body sending out a distress signal because you've "eaten something bad."
Old K was a little stunned.
He said, "You mean I shouldn't supplement my diet, but rather eat less?"
I said, "Yes."
The best way to replenish energy is not by adding, but by subtracting.
The first rule is to "eat less".
This is not about dieting, nor is it about fasting.
Instead, it frees you from the obsession with "filling up".
How many modern people, especially those of our age, are truly "hungry"?
Most of the time, we're just "craving" it.
Or rather, the brain feels "it's time to eat," the mouth feels "lonely," and the emotions feel "they need comfort."
Think back, how long has it been since you felt truly hungry?
That slight, refreshing feeling of hunger is actually your body telling you: My stove has burned out the fuel from the last meal, and the waste inside has been cleared out. Now, it's time to add new fuel.
This is a very valuable signal.
And what do most of us do?
The food from the previous meal hasn't been fully digested, and it's still stuck in my stomach, and the next delicious meal is already here.
Your spleen and stomach are like a 996 employee who works 996 all year round, with no time to breathe or repair.
If this continues, even the best machines will eventually break down.
Therefore, my advice to Old K is very simple.
Change your "three meals a day" to "two meals a day", or move your dinner time to before 6 p.m. and only eat until you are 50% full.
Replace the greasy, raw, and sticky foods at your meals with warm, light, and easily digestible options.
Especially at night, when the body's yang energy needs to rest and recuperate, digestion is already weak. If you insist on having a seafood barbecue and an ice-cold beer, you're forcing your internal organs, which have already finished their workday, to get up and work all night.
When you wake up the next morning, you don't feel refreshed, but rather dizzy, have bad breath, and feel heavy-headed.
This is internal friction.
The most terrifying kind of internal strife is the invisible one.
"Eating less" essentially means freeing the body from the heavy "digestive task".
The energy you save is the "net profit" that you can use to think, work, and create.
You keep "feeding" your body (eating) without giving your "warehouse" (spleen and stomach) time to clean up and take stock, which will only lead to inventory backlog, broken capital chain, and company bankruptcy.
The body is also a company, even a more sophisticated system than any other company.
Old K seemed to understand something and put away the bottles and jars on the table.
He was silent for a moment, then asked, "So tell me, besides 'eating less,' what is the best source of energy?"
I said, there's one more thing, which you might not understand even more.
Second, it's called "wearing more clothes".
Old K laughed and said, "What's so hard to understand? Just wear more clothes when it's cold." But what does that have to do with energy? These days everyone says "dress warmly in spring and lightly in autumn." Young people have plenty of energy, so wearing just a light layer in winter and letting it get a little cold is good for their health.
I shook my head.
I said, what you see is the "form," the action of putting on clothes.
What I'm talking about is "reason," the underlying logic of energy conservation.
I asked him, "Do you know what the most energy-consuming job for the human body is?"
He thought for a moment and said, "Is it thinking? Or exercise?"
I said, none of those are true.
It means "maintain body temperature".
We are warm-blooded animals. No matter whether the outside temperature is minus thirty degrees or forty degrees, our bodies must maintain their core temperature precisely at around 37-37.5 degrees Celsius.
This is a massive, ongoing energy project.
Your body is like a sophisticated, temperature-controlled building.
When the outside temperature is low, the building's heating system (metabolism) has to work at full speed, burning fuel (your energy) to maintain the warmth inside.
What are you really doing by calling it "autumn hardening" or wearing less clothing in winter, euphemistically called "strengthening willpower" or "enhancing immunity"?
You're opening all the windows in this building and turning the heating up to maximum.
You feel warm all over, energetic, and full of vitality.
That's not because you're "energetic"; it's because your body is sending out a "level one alarm," burning your stored energy at any cost to fight off the cold.
This is a state of stress.
In the short term, it seems to stimulate the immune system and make you more energetic.
In the long run, you are wasting your "vital energy" in vain.
What is vital energy (yuanqi)?
You can think of it as the "principal" in your life account.
The energy you replenish through eating and sleeping every day is "interest".
Experts know how to make a living from "interest" while carefully protecting their "principal".
Ordinary people, unknowingly, are constantly overdrawing their "principal" through various wrong lifestyles.
Wearing less clothing in winter is one of the most common reasons.
What is the essence of "wearing more clothes"?
It's like putting a thick "insulation layer" on the building that is your body.
When your body is insulated from the cold outside, it no longer needs to activate the energy-intensive "emergency heating mode".
It can adjust the heating system to a minimum, most energy-efficient operating state.
The enormous energy saved in this way is the real asset you can use to fight viruses, repair cells, and keep your mind clear.
I have a friend who works in landscape design in the north and spends most of his time outdoors.
In his early years, he was a typical believer in "strong firepower, not afraid of the cold," wearing only a jacket in winter. As a result, in his thirties, he developed severe rheumatism, and the pain would make it impossible for him to walk on rainy days.
Later, he met an old Chinese medicine doctor who didn't prescribe any medicine but just gave him three words: "Wear woolen pants."
Moreover, they were the old-fashioned, thick wool pants that covered up to the ankles.
At first, he thought it was old-fashioned and was unwilling to accept it.
But the pain was unbearable, so I put it on anyway.
As a result, after wearing it for a whole winter, he found that not only did his legs stop hurting, but his overall mental state also improved a lot.
My hands and feet used to be freezing cold in winter, but now they're always warm.
I used to get sleepy in the afternoons, but now my mind is very clear.
He later realized that the small pair of woolen pants not only kept him warm, but also protected his body's "yang energy" and "vital energy".
Yang energy is like the body's "guardian," responsible for resisting external pathogens.
If you leave the city gates wide open (wearing little clothing), letting the cold wind rush in, the guards will have to engage in close combat with the enemy, fighting in the streets until they are exhausted.
If you dress warmly, it's like closing the city gates and adding a moat, allowing the guards to sit on the city walls, drinking tea and waiting for the enemy to attack.
Which one is more energy-efficient and which one is smarter is obvious at a glance.
Therefore, the wisdom of "wearing more clothes" goes far beyond just clothing.
It is a kind of "boundary" thinking.
It's about building a protective layer for your own energy and reducing unnecessary consumption.
For example, why should we use air conditioning less often?
Because the cold air from an air conditioner is a "stealing wind," which is most likely to damage a person's yang energy. In summer, when you are covered in sweat and your pores are open, if you are facing the air conditioner with the cold air blowing directly into your bones, it will penetrate directly into your bones and cause illness.
This is also a form of energy dissipation.
For example, why should we listen to less gossip and participate less in ineffective social interactions?
Because every argument, every emotional fluctuation, every insincere agreement consumes your mental energy.
The mind is a higher-dimensional form of energy than physical energy.
You spend two hours arguing with someone about a topic that has nothing to do with you, and you win in the end, but you feel extremely tired.
This kind of exhaustion can't be recovered even with a good night's sleep.
Because your mind has been disturbed.
Therefore, a person who truly understands the wisdom of "wearing multiple layers" will proactively put on several layers of "insulation clothing" for their life.
On a physical level, he would add clothes as needed according to the solar terms to protect his body temperature.
On an emotional level, he will stay away from people and things that drain him and prevent others' negative energy from invading his "barrier".
In terms of information, he will selectively receive information, preventing junk information from occupying his precious brain memory.
You see, whether it's "eating less" or "wearing more clothes," the underlying logic is the same.
They are all shifting from "additive thinking" to "subtractive thinking".
The focus has shifted from "seeking externally" to "guarding internally".
After listening, Old K remained silent for a long time.
The tea in front of him had gone cold.
He picked it up, drank it all in one gulp, and then said to me: I understand. All these years, I've been adding things together.
Add more projects, earn more money, meet more people, and consume more "supplements".
I thought this was the meaning of life, the source of "energy".
As a result, I turned myself into a bloated, tired, and on the verge of collapse fat man.
Starting tomorrow, I will begin to subtract.
Later, Old K really changed.
He disbanded several unprofitable peripheral projects in the company and focused his energy on the main business.
He turned down 80% of the unnecessary dinner invitations and started going home for dinner.
He gave away all those bottles and jars and started learning to drink porridge and eat light vegetables.
He even went so far as to buy two pairs of thick woolen pants, which he would wear as soon as the weather got cold.
Six months later, when I saw him again, I almost didn't recognize him.
He had lost weight, but not in a gaunt way; rather, he looked very toned and energetic.
His eyes became clear and calm, no longer showing that anxious feeling of being on the verge of burning.
He said that he is probably earning less money now than before.
However, I feel ten thousand times richer than before.
Because I rediscovered the "fundamentals" of my body.
I am no longer an energy "consumer", but an energy "guardian".
This feeling is so reassuring.
Old K's story is actually a microcosm of most of us.
We live in an era that promotes "addition".
Consumerism tells you that you need to buy more things to be happy.
Success literature tells you that you need to build a wider network of connections to succeed.
Health experts tell you that you need to eat more supplements to stay healthy.
Driven by these sounds, we ran wildly, not daring to stop.
We keep grabbing outwards, thinking that the more we grab, the safer and more powerful we become.
But the truth is quite the opposite.
A person's energy level depends not on how much they receive from the outside world, but on how well they protect themselves internally.
How much water a bucket can hold depends not on how much rain falls, but on its own shortcomings and leaks.
"Eating less" is like plugging the loopholes in your digestive system, preventing you from wasting energy due to over-digestion.
Wearing more clothes helps to plug the gaps between your body and the outside world, preventing you from wasting energy fighting against the environment.
These two seemingly simple actions reveal a profound wisdom about life—shifting from a dissipative life to an accumulating life.
This kind of wisdom was actually taught to us by our ancestors long ago.
The Tao Te Ching says, "Less is more; more is more."
The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic states, "Eat and drink in moderation, maintain regular daily routines, and avoid excessive labor."
These simple truths, like air and water, are so common that we tend to overlook them.
We prefer to believe in expensive, complex, and seemingly sophisticated theories, forgetting that the real answers are often hidden in the simplest everyday things.
For the past few years, what I have been doing is to retrieve these simple wisdoms that have been scattered in classics from ancient and modern times, both in China and abroad, and translate them into thinking models that modern people can understand and use.
For example, the "subtraction-based health preservation" we are talking about today is actually a very small slice of my entire thinking system.
When I put it in a larger framework, you'll find that the underlying logic is the same for personal growth, relationships, and business decisions.
The truly brilliant strategy is not about addition, but about subtraction.
The solution to a chaotic life is not to learn more new skills, but to reduce the internal friction that drains you.
The solution to a bad relationship isn't to learn more "communication skills," but to cut back on unrealistic expectations and attempts to control.
A stagnant company doesn't need to develop more new businesses, but rather to get rid of the burdens that drag down its cash flow.
Over the past few years, I have refined, extracted, and systematized these thoughts, eventually forming an e-book column containing 100 core thinking models—(The Study of Life).
It is divided into five modules: self-cultivation, mindset, perspective, career, and path, totaling 100 chapters and 700,000 words. It is not a manual that teaches you "techniques," but rather an "instruction manual" that helps you rebuild the underlying operating system of your life.
It will guide you to find the unseen "energy leaks" in your life from the root, and then plug them one by one.
It transforms you from a constantly deflating balloon into a hot air balloon full of energy and rising continuously.
If you're like Old K, feeling like you're working very hard but always exhausted; knowing many principles but still unable to live a good life.
This series of columns may be a major turning point in your life.
It will help you make the crucial leap from an "additive life" to a "subtractive life".