Many individuals misinterpret minimalism, giving it a very disproportionate meaning: you’re a minimalist if you do fewer things during your lifetime. You can’t have $10k/month on a consistent basis, you can’t travel the world, you can’t take advantage of expensive tools…stop. This is not what minimalism is.
You can have all that and still be a minimalist. That is actually the wrong meaning that everyone’s spreading. In fact, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with owning certain types of material possessions.
The problem is that we attribute too much importance to the material things we own. It’s like this busy world’s drawing our attention towards so many things at once that we can barely remember what’s actually important.
You Don’t Have to Change Your Goals
Having big goals like owning a luxurious house where you can take care of your family is not a “bad goal”. Having a minimalist mentality will actually help you reach that goal by making you a better person during the process.
The journey is always more important than the destination. But wait…we haven’t really defined minimalism, so let us do it quick right now:
Minimalism is a mindset which allows you to eliminate the excess out of your life all while enjoying the simple yet very important daily aspects. The purpose is to find fulfillment and happiness without chasing dreams that are psychologically implemented by other stronger forces such as advertisements, influencers, and society in general.
It’s Not All About Material Things
Becoming a minimalist doesn’t necessary mean that you have to get rid of your fancy car or of your expensive clothes. In fact, it’s more about creating space in your head first. Then, you’ll be able to make space in your life too.
It’s all about stripping away the unnecessary luxuries of your life up to the point where you live with just the essential. Not only that you live without much, but you’re also extremely happy with your condition.
I’ve approached a very smart person called Stacey Watson, a professional content writer at Wizessay, but she is more than a writer. She’s a very intelligent person who happens to live a minimalist life for over a decade now. Here’s her advice for everyone who’s looking to apply minimalism into their lives.
“The first step towards healing from a toxic society (in terms of distractions and irrelevant elements) is awareness.
If you’re aware that your brain is rooted and stuck with many aspects that make you unfulfilled (desire to be rich, powerful, or simply the desire to have), it’ll be easier for you to step out of this mindset and find new perspectives.”
You Can Practice Minimalism Right Now!
A minimalist lifestyle is something that everyone of you can approach, right now. It starts with the simple decision of curing yourself of the unnecessary. As your life is made up of more elements such as finances, clothes, friends, responsibilities, priorities, and so on, you need to start focusing only on what’s necessary.
This means that you need to “turn on” your conscious awareness right now and start examining (carefully) everything that you’re doing. When you open that wardrobe, do you see unnecessary things that can go away? If they do, it’s going to be much easier dressing up in the morning so you’ll save time each day.
Do you buy too many things on a daily basis? This could count as ice-creams, clothes, accessories, and basically a lot of stuff. If you realize that you do, cut the number in half and prioritize what’s important!
Minimalism Leads to a Better Personal Development Process
If you were thinking…is this right for me? I guess this depends. In case you’re looking for ways to develop your personal and professional qualities, minimalism can definitely help.
The moment you focus your attention towards a limited amount of goals, actions, and behaviors, you’ll obviously accomplish more. Solo-tasking is always more efficient than multi-tasking in terms of productivity.
Once you manage to adopt this mindset, your life will start to get a new shape. Moving on after hurtful emotional situations is going to be easier, working on your goals will go much smoother, and the amount of stress you’ll have will be lesser.
Takeaways
- Adopting a minimalist lifestyle is definite a challenge at first.
- Don’t expect it to be easy.
- Everything that’s above average mentality is somehow harder to accomplish.
- It’s hard. It’s hard because since you were born you’ve been taught and shaped to be like the rest of the people – selfish, stressed, or mediocre.