On minimalism
Read time: 8 minutes
Many of us have heard about minimalism, but what is it really?
The concept of minimalism has gained traction in the past few years, yet it has become deformed, void of it’s philosophy and full of it’s commercial appeal.
Nowadays when you hear about minimalism you think of a person doing 1 or more of the following:
- A hipster doing his best to wear the same T-shirt and jeans for 1 year straight
- Someone’s apartment where they only have a toothbrush (and obviously no toothpaste)
- Someone who has so few items than they can fit everything in their backpack
To this list, you usually also add:
- Not owning a car
- Owning a total of less than 100 items
- Only wearing grey clothes on Thursday
- Not owning any jewelry
Ok, kidding.
That is not quite what minimalism is supposed to be.
As much as you may have been over-advertised this version of minimalism as an “-ism”, as some sort of cult celebrating the throwing out of stuff you don’t need, that is simply not what it amounts to.
If you’re looking for a one sentence definition, I think the best way to illustrate that is to quote from Greg McKeown’s great book called Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less:
“Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of less either. It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.”
Minimalism is...
Minimalism is the art of living a simpler life.
It means sacrificing the pointless extras of life in favor for that which brings you real pleasure.
It means not giving into the idea of ‘more’, but rather into a world of ‘better’.
It means taking out the useless stuff from your life in order to make room for the important things.
It means you are aware of what you need and what you don’t need.
It means you streamline your existence so that every purchase brings you true value.
It means owning less so you can get more real pleasure from what you do own.
It means caring about fewer things, so you can be more.
It means focusing on the right things, not so you accomplish more things, but rather so you can accomplish what is important.
I heard somewhere this phrase and I truly believe it sums up the whole concept extremely well:
“Minimalism is the act of voluntary simplicity.”
It means CHOOSING to bring fewer things into your life, knowing full well what it means not to have access to some stuff.
How minimalism looks like
Minimalism can take many forms.
For some of us it means living out of a backpack, having just enough things so you can travel the world.
For others, it may mean living in a very tiny apartment with strictly the necessities.
For yet others, it means you live a normal life, but when you want to get your child a new toy, they have to give up one of the toys they already own.
There is no one size fits all.
Your minimalism journey is all about your needs.
This is not a competition of who can leave with fewer stuff.
It’s all about how you can bring the most fulfillment into YOUR life while worrying the least about what is not important for you.
I cannot tell you how many things to own.
I cannot tell you what should or shouldn’t be important for you.
That is all up to you.
If your most important possession really is weirdly shaped sex toys you have no reason to feel bad for that.
Rather the exact opposite.
If the thing you really love is finding the next weirdly shaped sex toy, by all means invest as much of your resources into that.
Buy no other kinds of toys.
Buy no more snacks.
Don’t buy any fancy coffees.
Don’t buy souvenirs from other countries you visit.
Do make sure to get the basics to live on, but other than that, go ham on your thing!
Why be a minimalist?
That’s a question I’ve been asked quite a few times already.
Living out of a suitcase, or travelling Europe with only what I can fit into a backpack may seem crazy (and it may even be crazy), yet that is what gives me the chance to experience the most joy, to find the most fulfillment in my own life.
That is what is the enabler for me to enjoy life as much as possible, to be as fulfilled as I possibly can be, to make room for what is important for me, to get the clarity I need in my life.
I don’t have the answers for your own journey.
That is up to you to discover and to create the meaning in your life.
Find first what brings value to YOU.
Keep searching for what YOU need, what you don’t need, what you are willing to give up and what is too important for you.
This is an ongoing process, and your minimalism now may look different from your minimalism 10 years from now.
Just remember to keep asking yourself and not stray too far from the answer to the question “What is important for me right now?”
My only advice on the matter of minimalism would actually be The Minimalists’ words:
“Love people, use things. The opposite never works.”
If you want to learn more about this movement, check out this amazing people: