What Almonds and Subtraction Taught Me About Life

Is there something in your life that seemed impossible until it wasn’t?

In first grade, I was convinced subtraction was impossible. I sat at our dining room table, frustrated and close to tears, thinking I would never get it. Numbers made sense when I was adding them, but taking them away felt impossible for my 6 year old brain to process.

Then my mom poured out some almonds. She lined them up, slid a few away, and showed me subtraction in a way I could see and finally understand. Suddenly it clicked. What had felt impossible was not impossible at all. Subtraction was actually easy (and delicious). I just needed it explained differently.

That wasn’t the only time I felt that way about something hard to understand, and it won’t be the last. In fact, since becoming a coach and business owner, I feel that same frustration on a weekly basis. But somehow I always figure it out.

And it is why I love what I do today. When I sit down with my clients, I often see the same look in their eyes that I must have had as a first grader (and last week): overwhelmed, frustrated, and ready to give up.

They think:

• “I’ll never get out of debt.”

• “I can’t stick to a budget.”

• “I’ll never be able to save.”

But then I get to be the one who slides the almonds across the table. I explain it in a way their brain can finally see and grab hold of. And then I get to see the moment it clicks.

Debt starts to feel manageable. Saving begins to feel possible. Spending habits start to shift. That impossible mountain shrinks into something they can actually climb. Then what used to be “impossible” becomes easy.

That is what almonds and subtraction taught me about life. Most of the things we label “impossible” are just waiting for the right explanation or change in perspective.

Today, when life feels too hard, I remind myself, ”This isn’t impossible, this is just my new subtraction.”

What is your subtraction?