Perhaps you are in the same position I was. You may feel lost, with no money and no time to travel. You probably don’t know what you want to do in life. You might feel like you have no goal, no passion, or perhaps even no hobby. In short, you think your life sucks. Maybe, but it’s time to change your life around and see how minimalism can help you!
You might be afraid of minimalism because you think that you have to throw all your belongings away. Let me tell you that there are as many minimalism as minimalists. Everyone has their interpretation of minimalism. For example, I’m not a too radical minimalist with nothing in my home. I like to have clothes (although I have fewer than before), I have a cat with too many toys, and I love having many plants in my home.
I started to become a minimalist when I was a student. I needed to have more place in my tiny apartment. So I began to throw away a lot of stuff: clothes, shoes, courses that I will no longer use and so on… But I wasn’t aware of all the advantages of being a minimalist.
A few years ago, I wanted to go deeper into this concept, so I started reading The Minimalist Mindset. In this book, the author tells you about his minimalism journey and how it benefited his life. He has a bit of a strict approach, but the book is amazing! It helped me in a lot of aspects of my life.
Minimalism is a journey. It’s a journey because your choices and decisions will represent who you are.
So how can minimalism help you to be happier?
You live with less
When you talk about minimalism, decluttering is the first thing in mind. And it’s completely true. The first step of the journey is actually to declutter your home.
Why so? Because decluttering your home also clears your mind and allows you to concentrate on what matters.
When I started minimalism, I was a student living in a small studio. There was only one room, but I managed to fit all my stuff in it. I felt like I couldn’t properly concentrate and study with the mess in the apartment with exams approaching. So during my revisions, I stopped studying for a morning to declutter and clean my apartment. I felt better right away and could finally start working more efficiently. And it’s exactly why get rid of things is so important because you don’t have to organize something just for a study session. You always have less clutter to be entirely concentrated on things that matter. Now I don’t have to clean my desk to work on my business. It’s already clean, and I can sit whenever I want to work.
When you saw all the stuff you threw, you realize you didn’t need/like them. That brings us to the second point.
You save money
Declutter is the first thing to do because you start noticing all the stuff you don’t like or need. You also realize the amount of money that you spent on these things.
When I did it, I was disgusted by all the money thrown away. I worked so hard to earn it, and it took me minutes to spend it on clothes that looked awful on me.
My mindset has changed. When I go out shopping, I try all the clothes that I want to buy (I didn’t do it before and I was too lazy to go back to the store reimbursed). I also have a list of the stuff that I need (like a bikini for holidays or a top for work). When I buy something, it’s because I really need or like it and I know that I will use it. I stopped going to Starbucks for moral support that would help me to go through the day. I stopped buying these cheap little tops, which will be deformed after washing them once. (Mettre les vidéos sur ce que je regrette d’acheter et la vidéo sur comment gagner de l’argent).
I realized that since I became more mindful of my own, my spendings were a lot lower than before. Like a lot!
You know what matters to you
And I insist on the word “you”. It’s not about your friends, boyfriend or your family… Minimalism will help you to know what’s important for YOU. I think that minimalism is about decluttering everything that you don’t want or what is not important in your life. So maybe you will stop talking to this friend who calls you every day to tell you the last news about her relationship. Maybe you will stop saying yes to every request from your family. You will know what’s good for you. Maybe you will break up with your boyfriend because your relationship is not what you want.
You will have new hobbies or a new passion.
And it’s exactly what I did in my life. I stopped talking with people who took too much from me with nothing in return. I took the decision to speak to people who brings me joy and happiness. I also stopped some habits that I had before: go shopping every time I feel depressed, have no goals, do nothing during a week, have no money… I can definitely say that it’s minimalism that helped identify things that I didn’t want and make decisions to avoid. I think it’s thanks to minimalism that I quit my 9-5 job to have another one that provides me more time to do what I like to do.
When you know what is important for you, you will know what you want to do in life. Maybe, what’s important for you is to be married and have many kids or have a successful career in a big company. Perhaps it’s to be your boss. With minimalism, you will have more time, energy, and money to do what you really want to do.
You finally have time for yourself
With all that new time for you, you will think about yourself! Finally!
You will sit down and think about the big questions: what do you want to do in your life? What are you going to do to get there? What are your goals?
It’s a bit scary to say like this, but it’s really necessary to change your life in a meaningful way.
I like to take this time for myself, remind myself of my goals, adjust them if necessary, and move forward on my projects.
Because you know what’s important for you, you will quit some habits you have, and you will have time to do what you like.
For me, minimalism means more time and money for traveling. I think that traveling is one of the most important things in our life for a lot of us. But it’s expensive and time-consuming, both aspects which could be possible thanks to minimalism!
Hi everyone! I’m Anna and I’m a twenty-something woman. Most of the time, I like to rewatch all the episodes of Castle and read A LOT of personal development books! And I have a cat : Pizza, because I love … Pizza!