Hello, friends, this is Youheum. I practice extreme minimalism.
Right now, I'm living off of one duffel bag for 4-months. Today I'll share how I
cultivate happiness outside of what I own and how I combat boredom.
The biggest change that I made in my own life is shifting my perspective on happiness.
I now believe that happiness can also be experienced outside of my possessions.
Meaning intentionally keeping a limited amount of things within my reach but
also exploring and venturing outside to cultivate creativity and freedom.
Since that shift happened in my life, I transformed from living the instant
lifestyle of addictive shopping, constant media consumption, and partying
to embracing slow-living. So my current focuses and priorities are family time,
traveling, also nutritious movement, and connecting with nature. And some of the
questions that I receive from my friends and from this community for walking this
path includes... Do you feel happy with less?What do you do in life if you lack
stimulation like drinking, partying, shopping, and regular media consumption?
How do you spend time and money if you own nothing exciting? How do you
combat boredom? For me, the answer depends on how we as individuals choose to
define happiness and nourishment. I believe that it's good to have
difference of opinion in this area. I feel that happiness should remain a
unique experience for everyone. So for some people, happiness may be having
abundance in variety of things. Maybe they love
depending on the comfort or luxury of their possessions. So a comfortable home
with all the necessities and more can be the definition of some person's
happiness. Which is also a valid and acceptable way of finding joy in life.
So I accept anyone who chooses to walk this path and if you love shopping feel free
to do what you prioritize in your own unfolding. As I said,
it's your own happiness :)
For some people, I feel that happiness may be having a limited
amount of things that bring joy. And they may choose this path because they
believe that with conscious limitation on one side also comes freedom in other
areas of life. Like the freedom to travel with less baggage, the freedom to spend
money on experiences instead of accumulation, and also the freedom to
have more time and energy to venture outdoors. So this person can choose to
seek excitement and stimulation through sports, adventure, through problem
solving, and challenges. Also, I would love to know what your unique definition of
happiness is. And it's okay if you are trying to figure it out right now. Let me
know what are some of the thoughts that come up. What do you think is so
liberating about finding your own path instead of following the norm? Feel free
to share with us in the comments below.
As a minimalist my own definition of happiness comes from cultivating
experiences. And my happiness is defined by my own feelings not how I look or
what I own. This is because I believe that physical conditions can't
accurately define the state of my emotional well-being and the level of
satisfaction I have in life. I think that it's too limiting for me to think that a
person who has the socially acceptable components of happiness to always be
labeled as happy or to label a person with great wealth as always happy or to
label extrovert traits as the default standard of happiness or to assume a
person who wears a certain designer brand as somehow happier than someone
who doesn't. I think we often fall into the trap of feeling not good enough, of
feeling lost, and feeling like a victim when we start to define happiness by
observing and analysing their material possessions or physical looks.
I choose to define my own happiness in non-material ways and I do not
try to measure the well-being of others with my limited perception because I
know that whatever I choose to conclude about someone else's happiness, it will
always be a projection of my own standards and preference. I think
that what's really important is not what others are doing, not what others are
wearing, or how others are going about their happiness. What's really important
should be how I'm going to cultivate my own happiness, how I'm going to overcome
boredom in life, and how I'm going to challenge myself and find excitement in life,
and how I'm going to be a better version
of myself by gradually building my ideal lifestyle. And the common blockss that I've
experienced in my own path of finding happiness are lack of energy, lack of
creativity, and enthusiasm which I believe are all forms of boredom. So for
boredom for me, it feels like being stuck and it feels like I'm wasting my time
and I feel somehow useless and unproductive. So in the past when I was
in a cycle of chronic boredom I leaned towards temporary thrills and forms of
instant gratification for short-term happiness. And this includes readily
available and easily accessible entertainment like shopping, drinking,
partying, and media consumption. And it's not like I believe that these activities
are necessarily toxic, unhealthy, or bad for everyone. These are all ways of
enjoying life and I'm grateful to have these resources and options in my life
as well. But it's just that I don't see these activities as permanent solutions
for boredom or as the way towards long-term happiness in my own unique
situation. And the reason why I was attracted to hyperstimulation and
thrills in the past was because I was afraid of seeking more than what I
believed I deserved. And I think that combating boredom with true nourishment
does require effort, it does require more energy, and it's a challenge on itself.
That's why I felt overwhelmed and fearful of seeking something beyond my
capabilities. So naturally at first I didn't have any interest incorporating
consistent activities like yoga, meditation
EFT, also hiking, and working out on a daily basis because
I believed that these things don't really yield immediately rewards
and it's not something that I can reach and obtain in an instant. But at the root
of this impatience and resistance was my fear of being a failure and my
fear of being not good enough to succeed in these activities with
perfection. So I would often shy away from challenges and from the things
that required more creativity, more time, energy, and effort
on my side. But now I believe that it doesn't really matter how often I commit
to these things or even the quality of my commitment but what does matter is my
own happiness, my own feelings while doing these activities. And as long as I
can enjoy yoga and other activities, I think that I always deserve to own it
and I always deserve to invite it into my life. So what is ultimately important
is to find what I love and do more of it as much as possible because in life,
there will be limitations, there will be limitation in time, money, space, and
other resources. And it only matters that I do what I love within the best of my
abilities and capabilities while being free of guilt and shame. So I hope that
this message on happiness, on finding what matters most to us, and living life
by our own standards reaches you. And if you enjoyed this video, please like and
subscribe to my channel. I'm always here to offer resources with the community
and you can also find more in my blog, in my Patreon podcast, and more.
Thanks again for being here my friends and I hope to see you again soon.