MINIMALISM HAS BECOME trendy, even though it’s a concept that has been around for centuries.
It’s all over mainstream media, Netflix documentaries, and it’s used across various industries, including fashion, design, food, technology, beauty, housing, and more.
But when the hype-dust settles, what is a minimalist lifestyle?
Minimalism has traditionally been linked to art and design concepts. But the terminology has grown to mean much more than that.
A minimalist lifestyle is the process of identifying what is essential in your life and having the courage to eliminate the rest. When you remove the unnecessary, you free up your time and capacity to focus on the things that truly matter in your life. Less is more.
Our modern lives are far from minimalist—perhaps maximalist or mediumist?
With so many distractions around us, we often find it challenging to create time and space to enjoy the simple things in life, like spending time with our loved ones, exercising, getting creative, cooking, or just doing nothing.
We’re too busy being overwhelmed by physical, digital, and mental clutter, leading to increased anxiety and an overall sense of dissatisfaction.
This isn’t just my opinion. Scientific evidence suggests that clutter elevates cortisol levels and disrupts focus.
Minimalism is an antidote to that state of overload.
That’s the general overview of a minimalist lifestyle, but there’s so much more to this concept.
In the rest of this article, I will break down the minimalist mindset, the misconceptions of minimalism before wrapping up with some different definitions of minimalist living.
The life-changing benefits of having a minimalist mindset
“More” is what we’re up against as a society. This constant desire for more is something we call “The More Virus”.
We often associate more with status, security, comfort and control. But the more you externally desire, the further you get away from yourself, and the more you have to lose.
Instead of thinking more will make you feel better, minimalism helps you to go small instead.
When you’re small, you can go deep with what you already have.
When you’re small, you’re more nimble, agile and responsive to change.
When you’re small, you have fewer responsibilities and commitments, which frees you up to have richer experiences with less pressure.
When you’re small, you’re limited by constraints, creating opportunities to innovate and have breakthroughs.
When you’re small, you can take more risks.
Small is beautiful.
When you’re big, on the other hand, you have dead weight and can’t move as quickly as you would like.
When you’re big, you have to make more decisions.
When you’re big, you have less opportunity to change.
When you’re big, you have more to lose.
Being small and staying small is an art. It involves fighting social pressures and advertising to maintain your liberty. It means being content with less. It also means being confident in what you already have. This is the minimalist mindset.
By Michael Ofei
www.theminimalistvegan.com
