There is a growing philosophy in the world today that more and more people are turning to.
We are in a world where the need for more shiny objects is at the forefront of human activity, where we are filling our world with more technology and things…
Some of us have had enough.
More and more people are turning their backs on the consumerist society of the 21st century and are fed up with the materialistic side of life.
People have hundreds of useless items stowed away in their homes, too many tasks to do in too little time, we are living to work rather than the other way around.
Here is where minimalism comes in.
The minimalist philosophy started life in the art and design world in the 1960s.
There is some debate around when it started life, but minimalism has been and continues to be one of the most influential movements of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Over the following decades, it has turned into a philosophy of living that is starting to resonate with more and more of us.
Some people think that the minimalist philosophy involves just cleansing our lives of all our possessions and coping with nothing.
The driving principle for a minimalist living is to fill a persons life with happiness and purposeful living.
It is to do more with less.
There are an increasing amount of stories hitting the headlines of millionaires and successful business people who have given up all they have to live a frugal life.
Workaholics who have suddenly quit their jobs to load up a backpack and travel around the world on a shoestring.
To most people on the street, this may seem like madness.
But many of these people have found peace, happiness and a balance in their lives.
So let’s look at the philosophy in a bit more detail and possibly explore the negatives also.
Less Is More
As mentioned previously this is probably the mantra of the minimalist philosophy.
For many people, this is just so hard to achieve.
We are bombarded every day by media-rich messages encouraging us to buy the latest this or that.
As children, most of us were exposed to this culture at an early age, and in the age of the internet, this is even more so.
The message out there is ‘more is good’ and means you have ‘achieved’ you are worthy now that you have the latest car, iPhone or Netflix subscription.
Let’s face it too many, many people this type of behavior can also achieve the same effects as minimalism in that it makes us feel good about ourselves and gives us a sense of worth.
However, less is more has become a paradox.
The fact of the matter is that the more you offer someone, the less they are going to act on them.
From a minimalistic perspective, they argue that to have less clutter in your life will lead to less chaos in your mind, less stress, and tasks to do.
The less we use and consume the more space and freedom we will enjoy in our lives.
Eliminate The Unessential Things In Your Life
To start on your minimalist journey, you have to start from the point of thinking through all that we are.
We need to decide what is essential and what is standing in our way.
Identify what is holding you back and having negative influences on your life.
Finally, eliminate all the negativity in your life, worries, fear, and doubt.
All sounds great on paper, but how realistic is it?
Let’s face it in life, no matter how well you live it, and how much of a good person you are, bad things do happen.
Life is not always right and fair even if you are.
Things won’t always go well, and we won’t always feel good about ourselves.
You could also argue that broken dreams and worry and doubt are sometimes useful for our personal growth.
In fact, eliminating all negativity and bad things from your life is very hard to do, I am not saying it can’t be achieved, but it takes time and perseverance.
Live in the moment
Minimalism is connected to the idea of conscious living.
The idea here is that we don’t live in the moment anymore as we are too busy worrying about tomorrow or dissecting our past.
We have too much going on that we can’t relax and enjoy the moment or allow time for contemplation.
For a minimalist living in the moment requires contentment, focus, awareness, and enjoying the present by doing things more slowly.
The concept of living in the moment has been adopted as a core principle of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is a state of active, open, intentional attention to the present.
According to some mindfulness, people are happier, more exuberant and have higher self-esteem.
There is some correlation here between minimalism and mindfulness. Living in the moment is achievable and does have benefits for the individual.
Organization of time
Having a simpler life also means managing your time differently.
In the minimalist tradition, you have to eliminate all the unproductive activities in your day, the ones where you are wasting your time and energy.
Which of your daily habits are meaningless and are no help to you.
Organizing your time the wrong way can lead to too many daily tasks that only add stress to your life and is unhealthy.
Once again, great sentiment but sometimes hard to achieve.
So before you start to write your ‘to do’ lists consider if those activities are essential and what impact do they have on you.
Individualism
One final cornerstone of the minimalism philosophy is individualism.
As a follower of minimalism, you are who you are.
Make your own decisions, follow your path, and don’t try to answer for other peoples expectations of you.
Conclusion
Having taken a look at minimalistic philosophy is it for you?
Is minimalism that different from just living a more simple life?
Or are they both one of the same.
So by doing and maybe doing with less, getting rid of the things in our lives, we don’t want both physically and emotionally can lead us to a ‘simpler’ more ‘minimalistic’ life.
