I’ve never been great at math. I’m amazed by it, I admire people who are good at it, and I know its study and application have reshaped the world —but it’s definitely not my thing.
I remember flunking Math II at college, complete with a nullified exam. Because the course wasn’t a prerequisite for anything else, I never retook it. Fast‑forward to my final semester: to graduate, I suddenly needed those missing credits… and the subject no longer existed in the curriculum. The academic board had no idea what to do. They couldn’t offer a class that had vanished, but they also couldn’t let a handful of half‑baked students graduate short of credits. So they went for the only Solomonic option: an express “course” of two or three two‑hour sessions and one final exam. Easier was impossible. I passed— and that was my last brush with formulas of that level of complexity.
Still, there’s something about formulas that fascinates me. Maybe it’s the clean way they hint at a possible result, the feeling you’re looking at a cheat code, a shortcut, something so tidy and exact that if you just “unpack” it, you’ll get where you’re going faster. Over the past few years I’ve been collecting—and, more importantly, road‑testing—some life formulas. They use only the simplest symbols: plus (+) and minus (–). That’s what I’d like to share today.
1. The Change Formula
Change = Interest – Resistance
I borrowed the core idea from Catalan author Antoni Bolinches and tweaked it. Any change triggers a built‑in human resistance. If that resistance is greater than your genuine interest in the change, the change simply won’t happen. Our job is to crank up interest (the addend) and dial down resistance (the subtrahend). That takes three moves:
Introspection – grow aware of why the change matters.
Neuroscience 101 – understand how our ancient brain and our neocortex clash, so you see where resistance comes from.
Environmental design – shape your surroundings so they make the new behavior easier than the old one.
2. The Financial‑Peace Formula
Financial Peace = Income – Ego
Inspired by The Psychology of Money (and adjusted a bit). If your ego matches your income, there’s nothing left to save or invest—and goodbye future peace. If ego outstrips income, you won’t just lose peace; you’ll mortgage it. Debt, stress, traded‑away health, and lost time will all show up to collect. Flip it the other way: keep ego comfortably below income and the surplus can fund savings and investments that buy tomorrow’s tranquility.
3. The Ego Formula (my own)
Ego = What you think you have to prove you’re worth – What you’re already worth
You are worth plenty—flaws, dreams of improvement, good qualities, and all. That worth is enough for the right people. But if you believe you must prove even more, ego steps in, with its airs of superiority and “me‑first” mindset, and the fallout that brings.
4. The Happiness Formula (my own and favorite)
Happiness = Gratitude for what you have – Desire for what you lack
Desire isn’t bad; it’s natural, healthy, and drives progress. The problem is when the weight of desire exceeds the weight of gratitude. Gratitude is the secret sauce. The more grateful we are, the likelier we’ll stay at peace, no matter what we still long for. Happiness is that gap—that breathing space—between the gratitude for life lived and the desire for life still to come.
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This article was written for El Faro newspaper—April 2025 edition, and you can view the original Spanish version here.