WHAT IS MINIMALISM?
Minimalism is an art of living a life which has less of all the things that add no or little value to your life and more of the things that make your life more meaningful, joyous and contentful.
Trust me when I say Minimalism changes you as a person (for the better) and levels you up in so many different ways. From finding the purpose of your life to actually living that purposeful, intentional life in the joyous and simple way you desire, Minimalism means and gives you all that.
Understanding Minimalism the RIGHT way
1. Minimalism is about owing LESS of the things that no longer serve any purpose in your life.
We live in a materialistic world where we are made to believe that we need to look a certain kind of way, wear particular kind of clothes, and own the latest gadgets to fit into this world.
Naturally, it becomes very easy for us to keep accumulating things that adds external, temporary value to our lives. But are those things really upgrading your life in any way?
Is it truly helping you become a better version of yourself? Are you going to use the things you just purchased for making your life more fulfilling in any way? Or are you buying it because it is in fashion and it will make you LOOK cool?
Pomodoro’s 80/20 rule states that 80% of your outcomes come from 20% of the effort that you out in. This rule can also be extended to Minimalism which emphasises that we use only 20% of the things that we own 80% of the time .
So the goal is to recognise and keep those 20% of the things while doing away with rest which only adds more clutter to your life. Living with less things that you do not need is the core to a minimalist lifestyle.
2. Minimalism is the art of SIMPLE LIVING
While it is a popular misconception that Minimalism is a difficult way to live in which you have to deprive yourself of the simple pleasures in life or follow a hard and fast rule, it is quite contrary to that. Minimalist lifestyle simplifies your life in so many different areas.
Choosing carefully and keeping only a few items, people, habits, hobbies etc. that add maximum value to your life not only means less things to cater to but it also saves up a lot of money, time and energy of yours which otherwise would have been wasted in futile actions.
You can in turn use this energy, time and space for all of the things that you actually love doing. For the thing that sparks joy in you as Marie Kondo rightly says.
3. Minimalism is about making SPACE for the RIGHT KIND of Abundance
Minimalism is about doing away with the wrong kind of abundance to make space for the right one to flow in.
Do you enjoy abundance of tight schedules or frustration or workload in your life? or do you want abundance of love, quality time and money?
A minimalist lifestyle helps you make space for the good things to flow in. How can you expect to add more to your life when it is already full?
By discarding and doing away with the unnecessary items you make more space and for abundance to flow in. The kind of abundance that actually makes you happy.
To be able to focus your energy in the right things you need to declutter your life first. By decluttering and choosing minimalism you will make your life more space for the right kind of abundance. that is when abundance of things that matter and uplift you smoothly flow into your life.
4. Minimalism is about choosing QUALITY over QUANTITY
Would you want to have a lot of meaningless stuff, relationships, jobs, tasks in your life? Or would you rather have a selected few but high on quality ones?
Minimalism is about owning less stuff but which are high on quality. Which overall improves the quality of your mental, physical, emotional health.
It improves you as a person and also enhances the quality of your life. Rather than hoarding many cheap items, Minimalism is about keeping a few good quality ones which serves the same purpose. It saves you a lot of money and also gets your life organized.
Minimalism is not only about choosing quality clothes or gadgets. It can be extended to every sphere of your life. Its about choosing quality friends rather than having a huge social circle where no one truly understands or values the other.
Its about choosing to spend quality time with your loved ones or doing the thing you truly enjoy rather than wasting your time over superfluous issues and people.
5. Minimalism means living your life INTENTIONALLY and MINDFULLY
Minimalism is about living an intentional life where you consume intentionally. Your actions become more intentional naturally when you follow minimalism. The core value of minimalism is to own less or rather to own only the things that add value to your life.
In order to achieve the goal you need to mindfully go through the stuff you already own and declutter your life. Next when you consume or add more things plans to your life you do so by first asking yourself
- Do I actually need it or like it?
- Am I going to use it for the long term? (For things)
- Is it worth spending my money, energy and time on?
- Does it spark joy in me and helps me build the life that I have always dreamt of?
By asking yourself the above questions you are naturally allowing yourself to be more intentional and mindful with your consume. So Minimalism is actually a way of intentional living.
Summing up Minimalism
So, Minimalism is a lifestyle not a trend. It is a way of living with less clutter and more of the quality things in life. Its about making space for things and people that actually matter. Things that help you to upgrade your life and that sparks the joy within you.
If you want to know more about simple and mindful living, you can check out my other posts
