When I first heard about minimalism, I was totally turned off. One Netflix documentary after another was like “downsize your home” or “buy a backpack and fit all of your worldly possessions in it” or “sell your car.”
Just the thought of missing all those things made me want to get dressed up cute and go for a drive! So, I clicked off the documentary and thought, “Let’s see what’s on Bravo.”
I like having a large variety of clothes. I like the size of my home. I like buying books that I can hold in my hands.
I thought becoming a minimalist meant I had to get rid of all my possessions, downsize my home, and wear the same seven pieces of clothing on rotation. No thanks!
As a result, I originally dismissed it as something that is for tree huggers, not yours truly.
I stand corrected.
I was misinformed.
I am not sure when and where the lightbulb went on, but slowly, it became clear to me that minimalism was none of that.
What minimalism is really about is being in alignment with your values, and, consequently, your vision for your life…and then getting rid of everything that doesn’t support that vision. Stuff you don’t miss anyway. In fact, it’s all that excess stuff that is causing the problem to begin with.
I’m not referring to just physical possessions. This includes how you spend your time, the people you spend your time with, the way you spend your hard-earned dollars, how you take care of yourself, and on and on.
Each one of those things will move you closer to your vision or pull you further away from it.
However, it all starts with knowing what your vision for your life is! Something that not a lot of us take the time to stop and figure out. But, it’s kinda everything.
Once you know what you want out of life, everything becomes clear!
Decisions are so much easier.
You know where to go, what to do, who to do it with, what to wear while you’re doing it, and what to eat when you get hungry after doing it.
Once I understood the true meaning of minimalism, it changed everything!
It really wasn’t about giving up creature comforts at all.
It was about having clarity of direction in my life. Priceless.
So, I created my own definition of minimalism: everything in your life is your favorite and there is nothing in your life that is not.
This I could do!
Now, everything in my life is my favorite. I spend my time with my favorite people. I am surrounded by my favorite things. I drink out of my favorite coffee mug (see photo above). I write with my favorite pen. I spend my money on my favorite stuff. I wear my favorite clothes. I do my favorite activities. I eat my favorite food. I think my favorite thoughts.
And, if something is not my favorite, I say goodbye.
One caveat: If you have more than one child, please don’t apply this to your children. That could get dicey and you might incur large therapy bills later on. Plus, if you’re anything like me, the favorite title would change by the hour anyways.
TAKE ACTION: Pick one thing in your life that isn’t your favorite and get rid of it! It could be a coffee mug, a pair of shoes, a person, or an obligation. See how easy and freeing that is?!? You’re officially a minimalist. Now go hug a tree.
