The One Thought That Drives Minimalism

Minimalism in a single sentence: Eliminate something and the whole lot that now not contributes to the life you wish to stay.

I not too long ago had a useful on-line dialog with an individual I’ve by no means met.

I had posted about minimalism on social media (as I are likely to do) and she or he replied with a comparatively widespread response, “I’m simply afraid I’ll eliminate one thing I want later.”

There are, after all, no fast and simple replies to that concern—particularly once we’ve by no means met. I don’t know the place she lives, how a lot stuff she has, what she imagines her very best life to appear to be, and even her propensity to throw away issues that she’ll want later.

So, I provided my typical one-sentence reply to that query, “Aren’t you afraid of holding extra stuff than you want?”

Her reply went one thing like this: “No, that’s a dumb factor to be afraid of. Why would I ever be afraid of holding greater than I want?”

And in her reply, I used to be shortly reminded of the one perception that motivates all minimalist pursuits:

There is a hazard in proudly owning extra bodily possessions than I want.

The specifics of that motivation might look totally different from individual to individual.

For instance, we might imagine to ourselves:

• Proudly owning an excessive amount of retains me from high quality time with my household.
• Proudly owning an excessive amount of prevents me from reaching monetary freedom.
• Proudly owning an excessive amount of means I’m unable to share with others.
• Proudly owning an excessive amount of is a hazard to the atmosphere.
• Proudly owning an excessive amount of means my priorities are within the mistaken place.
• Proudly owning an excessive amount of slows down my journey of religion.
• Proudly owning an excessive amount of robs my alternative to pursue higher passions.

The particular motivation might change, however the overarching understanding remains to be the identical:

It’s not simply that possessions received’t make me pleased, it’s that they distract me from the issues that do! And it’s not simply happiness that extra possessions distract us from, however pleasure, which means, function, achievement, and significance.

That’s the lightbulb second that motivates minimalism.

There is a hazard in proudly owning greater than I want:

The hazard of shedding my life in pursuit of issues that don’t matter.