When you think of minimalism, you might think of living in an empty white room or not buying
anything new but that is far from the truth.
In this video, I will explain what minimalism is and its core value as well as how it can
change your life.
Those common misconceptions mentioned above are part of extreme minimalism and its one
way to be a minimalist but if you were to meet some minimalists, you would find that
is not what minimalism is.
You might even find that most minimalists live a completely different lifestyle yet
they all follow the same principles.
Sure, getting rid of stuff is often a result of minimalism but that isn't the whole concept,
it's a part of it.
Throwing a bunch of stuff out doesn't automatically make you a minimalist after all.
Minmalism’s core value is priorities.
Minimalism is all about reassessing your priorities so you can get rid of excess stuff that dont
bring value so you can focus on the things that do bring value.
That is why minimalism can be applied to multiple areas of life.
People declutter their material possessions, relationships, digital workspace, ideas, and
more.
The most common areas minimalism is applied to in order are your physical space, your
time, and your finances.
Your physical space is the most common area minimalism is applied to.
The core idea is to look at all the things you own and figure out if they provide value
to you or not.
You get rid of the extra stuff you dont need to focus on the things that matter.
However, its not just about getting rid of stuff.
When you might buy something new, you have to ask yourself if it will provide value to
you or not.
This way, you maintain that minimalist space.
2nd is your time.
We often schedule a lot of activities in our day to day lives.
Whenever you might feel that you dont have enough time to do everything or you're feeling
overworked, you should start saying no to things to free up more time for the things
that matter.
You also only take on activities you prioritize so you dont end up with a super busy schedule.
3rd is finances.
Oftentimes, people that decide to be a minimalist find that they save more money because they
are less attached to material goods and spend less on them.
By asking themselves questions before purchasing, they are able to stop impulse buying.
Minimalism has helped many people like Matt D Avella get out of debt so if you are struggling
with debt, I strongly recommend you to try it.
Saving money is one of the many benefits of minimalism and I will talk about more benefits
later.
Minimalism sounds simple but there are many misconceptions.
A common misconception is that a minimalist has to have restrictions like living with
less than 100 things.
That is not the case as you can own as much stuff as you want so long as they all provide
value to you.
Minimalism exists to help free you instead of restrict you even more.
A less common misconception is that once you declutter, you are done and can now proclaim
yourself as a minimalist.
That is not the case because it is an ongoing process since you have to constantly adjust
what feels right to you.
People change and so will your priorities.
You might find yourself shorthanded and need to buy more stuff or you might find that you
are still overwhelmed by possessions and need to declutter more.
When I first started, I felt that I didn’t declutter enough and had to declutter more.
As for the benefits, I mentioned spending less as one but I also want to talk about
enjoying life more and having less stress.
Minimalists enjoy life more because they start to look for happiness through life instead
of from material goods.
They determine what is necessary in their lives instead of doing things just to impress
others.
There are people that buy fancy cars just to impress others and maintain a certain image
but they never wanted the car in the first place.
By letting go of that pressure, you are able to enjoy life a lot more.
Minimalists also have less stress because they have to clean less, they have more time
to do what matters to them, and they dont have to do things they hate.
Also, there have been many studies linking clutter to stress.
One recent study done at UCLA shows a direct correlation in spiked cortisol aka the stress
hormone and clutter.
The study referenced mothers as having a cortisol spike while dealing with belongings.
One thing to note is that men do not react as strongly to women to cluttered surroundings
so read up on the studies and form your own opinion.
Do you identify as a minimalist?
Leave a comment below and check out these other videos on minimalism if you enjoyed
this video.