Do more of what you love, less of what you tolerate and none of what you hate. — John Assaraf

Do more of what you love, less of what you tolerate and none of what you hate.

Author: John Assaraf

Insight: We spend a lot of time pretending that life is something we have to endure rather than something we get to shape. The real trap isn't doing things we hate—most of us can recognize those and make a break eventually. It's the middle ground: the tolerating. Those obligations that don't quite make us miserable, so we keep them around. The job that pays okay. The hobby we're "supposed" to enjoy. The friendships that feel more like habit than connection. We tolerate them partly because they're not actively terrible, and partly because we've built our whole schedule around them. But here's what makes this advice stick: you have more control over this than you think. Most people wait for perfect circumstances to do more of what they love—more time, more money, more permission. Yet the best version of your life probably isn't waiting for a total life overhaul. It's built through small, deliberate swaps. Replace one tolerated thing with one loved thing. See how that feels. The weird part? Often we discover that eliminating what we merely tolerate creates space and energy that makes everything else better. Tolerance isn't neutral—it's a slow drain.