Minimalism — Why You Should Create More and Consume Less

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m overwhelm, depression, low self-esteem.</p><p id="d597">I agree, that today’s problem seems to be the meaning we attach to our stuff: we tend to give too much meaning to our things, forgetting our health, passions, relationships.</p><p id="948a">Try to do this exercise. Open the note-taking app you’re using, or pick a piece of paper. Take a deep breath, and imagine yourself surrounded only by people you care about (like they are the only people in the world), and things that bring you only joy — makes you smile, motivated, relaxed. Imagine a dimension where the only objects are these affecting you with positive waves. Dimension, where you are living your dream. Now, start writing.</p><p id="d5a1">Look at yourself, there’s a mirror nearby I assume. See? Okay, now. What are you wearing? Which watch do you have? Are you shaved, or with a beard? Are you in skirt or a gothic coat? What color is your hair? Observe every detail.</p><p id="eb12">Now, look around. Where are you? What are you doing? Who’s beside you? Are you filming with your iPhone or favorite camera? Do you own that house? Cool. Raising a family? Fantastic — if it’s important to you, you shall have it. Is that your car? That’s incredible!</p><p id="574c">Finish your writing and look around. Take another card and divide it equally. On the left, write all the things small and big, people and activities that don’t suit your imagined while ago world. On the right, write all the stuff and people that were present in your imagined life. Read both sides a few times, then look again at the right side. You are ready.</p><p id="cbfe">Build your world based on your passions, don’t distract yourself with tasks or people you don’t want to give 100% of your attention. Focus on things that matter for you. Leave everything else, build only your dream. Your minimalistic vision of perfect life, with no more than you need to be comfortable. Minimalism gives you freedom of choice, allows you t

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o live your dream.</p><p id="f73f">A wise man once said — Everything you can imagine could be brought to the physical world. Why don’t you start today?</p><div id="901c" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/why-are-we-introverts-so-quiet-e47622482192"> <div> <div> <h2>Why Are we Introverts so Quiet?</h2> <div><h3>Questions we usually don’t bother to answer</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*rlSyOrrheLmCGuqsCd_g4g.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="e064" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/my-parents-have-never-been-proud-of-me-966882540603"> <div> <div> <h2>My Parents Have Never Been Proud of Me</h2> <div><h3>How to fight for dreams, defeat disapproval and judgment</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*RQqoVh-4fqHwzMLZgv-PoQ.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="8c5b" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/why-do-you-feel-lonely-b89503b0dd6e"> <div> <div> <h2>Why Do You Feel Lonely?</h2> <div><h3>No friends, depression, social anxiety. You’re not the only one.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*V8GeAbSzPWfy_G5ZiM_QCw.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div></article></body>

How having less gives you more

One of my most inspirational authors James Clear (father of Atomic Habits, literally the guide how to get into productivity) published on his blog a quote by Nicholas Burroughs “Minimalism is not a lack of something. It’s simply the perfect amount of something”.

But it can’t be minimalism without identity. Every soul has its own unique identity. Identity means not only our values, people we care about, but also the things we own. For some of us, this is a big part, for others totally irrelevant. How important the fact of owning things is for you? The answer is in your personality.

So what is this minimalism thing? It’s quite simple: to be a minimalist you must live with less than 100 things, you can’t own a car or a home or television, you can’t have a career, you must live in exotic hard-to-pronounce places all over the world, you must start a blog, you can’t have children, and you must be a young white male from a privileged background.

That’s a joke, of course, used by Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus ‘the minimalists’ to describe stereotypes around the minimalistic way of living. It’s nothing about the number of possessed things or some rules you must follow.

Minimalism is a tool, not a philosophy. One of the tools to manage your freedom. Freedom from overwhelm, depression, low self-esteem.

I agree, that today’s problem seems to be the meaning we attach to our stuff: we tend to give too much meaning to our things, forgetting our health, passions, relationships.

Try to do this exercise. Open the note-taking app you’re using, or pick a piece of paper. Take a deep breath, and imagine yourself surrounded only by people you care about (like they are the only people in the world), and things that bring you only joy — makes you smile, motivated, relaxed. Imagine a dimension where the only objects are these affecting you with positive waves. Dimension, where you are living your dream. Now, start writing.

Look at yourself, there’s a mirror nearby I assume. See? Okay, now. What are you wearing? Which watch do you have? Are you shaved, or with a beard? Are you in skirt or a gothic coat? What color is your hair? Observe every detail.

Now, look around. Where are you? What are you doing? Who’s beside you? Are you filming with your iPhone or favorite camera? Do you own that house? Cool. Raising a family? Fantastic — if it’s important to you, you shall have it. Is that your car? That’s incredible!

Finish your writing and look around. Take another card and divide it equally. On the left, write all the things small and big, people and activities that don’t suit your imagined while ago world. On the right, write all the stuff and people that were present in your imagined life. Read both sides a few times, then look again at the right side. You are ready.

Build your world based on your passions, don’t distract yourself with tasks or people you don’t want to give 100% of your attention. Focus on things that matter for you. Leave everything else, build only your dream. Your minimalistic vision of perfect life, with no more than you need to be comfortable. Minimalism gives you freedom of choice, allows you to live your dream.

A wise man once said — Everything you can imagine could be brought to the physical world. Why don’t you start today?