Minimalism can be termed as the intentional promotion of the things we value the most
and the removal of anything that distract us from it. It’s all about having a clear
understanding of what matters to you. Living a minimalistic lifestyle has a
ton of benefits and in this video, we’ll be looking into some of them.
1. Peace of mind Not many people are aware that there is indeed
a connection between our physical possessions and our emotional and mental health. Studies show that
the simple act of clearing out closets has a huge impact on our peace of mind and mental clarity.
Look back to an instance when you took the time to go through your storage space
or a spare bedroom and sorted through the things you even forget were there. It might have been
a while ago but surely you still remember the feeling of relief you got when you were done.
It feels good to donate all the clothes you don’t need to goodwill. If you don’t need it,
love it or use it, why keep it? There’s something about clearing stuff out that calms the mind.
We stress ourselves out each time we cling to material possessions
out of fear of losing them. By simplifying your life,
you can lose your attachment to these things and eventually give yourself peace of mind.
The less things you have to worry about, the more peace you have.
In a way, minimalism and mental health go hand in hand. Minimalism has to do with giving you
a better life, which essentially supports your mental health.
2. More freedom There are so many physical possessions you have,
want to have, work hard to own, and those that you don’t really need but feel you have to have - to
impress someone at the office, or even with your friends. Financial advisor and New York Times
best-selling author, Dave Ramsey, said that we buy things we don’t need, with money we don’t have,
to impress people we don’t even like. Which is so true although not many will admit it.
Can you imagine how it would feel like to let go of the pressure and be free to do whatever you
wanted? You’d have the freedom to travel, take a day off or even do a job you actually like.
Minimalism is all about breaking away from the things that are bringing you down,
and living a free life such that you’re content regardless of the situation. It isn’t an
obsession with owning less as many people think. Rather it focuses on the freedom to live amply,
and making an impact. And the most effective way of doing this is to remove all the clutter.
Serious minimalists are people who have learned to live with things
without being consumed or possessed by them. They are more than able to toss out the things
they feel don’t add value to them, without feeling they need to praise themselves,
reason being, they’ve mastered the art of living free of the control of things in their hearts.
Minimalism isn’t only about freedom from things, it’s also about the freedom to live freely.
3. You have time for hobbies When you spend less time at
the stores trying so hard to keep appearances and maintain a lifestyle which you can’t keep up with,
you give yourself more time to focus on things you like that you don’t usually have time for.
A lot of people complain about how little time they have,
but not many people, really stop to look at how they spend their time.
You could be reading a good book, jogging in the park, travelling,
spending time with your kids or whatever it is you like, but really,
where are you instead? My guess is, at the Home Depot trying to buy more stuff.
To be truly happy, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies,
and they must all be real. These words were said by Winston Churchill who had a passion
for painting, landscaping, reading and playing polo.
The activities we do purely for our own enjoyment, are essential to personal growth.
Taking time away from social media, and technology, is good for your health and
overall well-being. Minimalism aims to cut people from distractions, clutter,
misplaced priorities that shifts our focus, and steals our attention. Minimalistic lifestyles
free up time and energy for leisure activities that are beneficial to our physical health,
and mental health. On top of that, hobbies are crucial because help strengthen our physical,
intellectual and creative skills that go forth to improve our personal and professional lives.
4. Your focus on material possessions lessens A majority of the things we surround ourselves
with are merely distractions. They usually fill a void. Money can’t buy you happiness, but it
can buy comfort. Once the initial comfort is satisfied, the obsession with it should end there.
Sometimes the media tries to paint a picture of materialistic things
as a direct path to happiness. And it’s for this reason that many folks struggle daily,
trying to pursuing some of these things. In order for us to live meaningful lives,
especially in the world of materialism we live in, it’s essential to differentiate between wants,
and needs. We have to further the things that are most valuable to us
and steer clear of the undesired things which only distract us from the important things.
That’s what a minimalistic lifestyle is all about.
Living an all-inclusive lifestyle which has a minimal and clutter free environment,
with more room to achieve something meaningful. The world as we know it is filled with pleasure
and offers a whole stream of material goods that claim to offer satisfaction.
The world is over-stimulating, and this lifestyle has the ability to lessen the influence
that advertisements and corporations have over our lives. You’ll notice that this lifestyle is
contrary to the society we live in, a society that praises having worldly possessions.
Minimalistic living seeks to find more joy and happiness
rather than owning things. That’s why some people are looking to remove unnecessary clutter
from life and live a minimalistic lifestyle rather than accumulating material possessions.
5. Less stress Wouldn’t it be nice to come home from work
to a house that isn’t cluttered or waking up early on a weekend to do what you don’t want?
Minimalism reduces stress by helping you clear the clutter in your life. When you let go of
the things that don’t matter and don’t add any value you lift, you open yourself to
more enriching experiences. You can turn over a new leaf and turn your life around without
the burden of clinging to things that were never important to you in the first place.
Minimalism also reduces stress by saving you money, time, and work. All in all,
having a clear vision and purpose in life reduces stress in your life.
6. Building better relationships Having a minimalistic lifestyle
allows you to spend more time with people who build you up, and you’re able to do the same.
Such a lifestyle makes us contribute beyond our selfish desires,
and believe in a greater purpose, other than our individual needs. It helps build
better relationships as a result, with those around us, especially our friends and family.
Clutter isn’t limited to emptying the house or spring cleaning. When you’re thinking
about having a healthy relationship, you might want to clear your emotional clutter as well.
You have to leave the baggage of past relationships to venture into a new one.
If not, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Another thing you have to do is be yourself.
Minimalism isn’t about taking a high moral ground on materialism.
It deals with being your authentic self, and keeping with the things that are important to you.
And in order to attract the right people into your life, being yourself is the way
to go. It’s so much better than putting on a show to try and impress someone who might not
be able to appreciate all that your true self has to offer, when the person you really are
is revealed. Not accumulating a lot of stuff is a great way of ensuring you’re only cultivating
relationships with people who can truly appreciate you and what you have to offer.
You might be thinking that minimalism and romance don’t mix well.
Yeah, it isn’t about all the flowers and chocolate, and who says that’s all it has to be?
Try and throw out the typical idea of romance and open your mind to having shared experiences,
tackling new challenges and new adventures. It has more meaning compared to the traditional
gifts to impress someone you’re interested in. These experiences are more personal and
will definitely lead to a deeper and stronger connection between you and those you care about.
7. You save more money If you spend less,
it means you’re saving more. And having more money offers a lot of options like paying debt faster,
having an emergency fund or investing. Living a minimalistic lifestyle makes saving easy.
By cutting down on your expenses, you’re able to build wealth, and in turn, you have more
to spend on experiences and activities you like. Investing in your personal finance,
starting and growing a business, and becoming financially independent becomes a possibility.
Just so you have a better idea of how beneficial a minimalistic way of life can be,
after it started to help people spend their money wisely, it actually got a term of its own;
financial minimalism.
This has to do with being free. Free of debts, guilt, and the stress, that keeps you up at night,
because of financial struggles. In terms of finances, minimalism
guarantees financial stability, and also allows you to maintain a healthy relationship with
money which everyone seeks. The good thing about minimalism is that it allows you to
shift your priorities and decide which things you should stay with, and which to let go of.
There won’t be time to spend on things that don’t matter to you anymore, and the same
applies to your finances. The money you have only goes into what you believe to be important.
You can easily discern what you need, from what you want, and keep a simple budget for it.
8. Boosts productivity
The moment you’ve gotten rid of all the things that don’t bring value to your life,
you instantly have an open place to live and work. There are less stuff piling on your desk at work,
in the house, and anywhere else. This translates to less distractions. And the
less distractions you have, the more you’re able to focus on being more productive.
We’re not always aware of the things that distract us. It just happens,
and once you get used to it, you easily accept it. One minute you’re typing an urgent document,
the next you’re looking through the magazine on the table, or playing candy crush.
And it can take a lot of time to get back on track. Twenty-three minutes, give or take,
is the average, and this impedes your input immensely. Even the tiniest of interruptions
can double your chances of making mistakes. It’s true that there are distractions that can’t
be avoided but the ones that you can control can make you more productive in the long run.
Having more things will make you think about them more. There’s a lot of things you can take out to
lessen the distractions in both your personal and professional life to be more productive.
9. Enables personal growth and development
Embracing minimalism allows you to free up space for future potential,
growth and development. You get to choose where you want to focus your energy.
The moment you make the decision to live with less, you’ll learn that it’s simple to improve
the quality of life. In the process, you will adopt new skills to get better at simplifying,
learning, strengthening your personality, and boosting confidence. You’re less likely to waste
your life, but instead, follow the path to success when you find more time, energy and headspace.
Minimalism is vital to personal growth because, we only have a certain amount of energy each
day. We tend to spend more energy on the things that we think matter the most to us.
This could be a job you’re interested in, someone you care about or, a cause that you believe in.
In order to grow, one has to put in more energy and effort. Each time you
spend a lot of energy doing unnecessary things, little energy is left for what really matters.
We’re all aware of how challenging it can be to organize and keep track of things when we
have them in excess. Don’t forget that the things we have, whether physical or not,
is a responsibility that takes up some element of time and attention.
If you truly want to live a happy and fulfilling life, give minimalism a try.
All the benefits are clear. You might be under the impression that you’re losing,
but with time, you’ll come to realise that you are actually gaining so much more.
Thank you so much for watching. Like, subscribe and I’ll see you all in the next one.