Today, let’s talk about a super faaar-out raaadical concept that you may have heard slip out of the mouth of the cool office millennial…
Perhaps you are familiar with ‘The Minimalists’ where I derived most of the content from tis show, from.
Or… it’s also very possible you saw something about it on Netflix!
Let’s talk about Minimalism.
Just a forewarning, I would not consider myself a minimalist, and don’t think that in order to achieve utopian nirvana… you have to live in a shipping crate.
If that is your thing, I am so happy for you and proud of you… that’s not my season right now!
Instead, let’s take a couple minutes and extract some concepts that I think you could implement tonight and improve your life.
Let’s start with a quote.
“Minimalism is the thing that gets us past the things
So we can make room for life’s most important things
Which turns out aren’t things at all.” -Ryan Nicodemus
The average American household has 300,000 items in it.
So tonight, go through and count your things! Ha!
Isn’t that staggering? 300,000 items on average that usually do nothing more than take up space, or that we keep around just in case we might “eventually find it useful”
What are some weird things you have kept in your attic or basement that for some reason you hesitate to get rid of?
Maybe it’s old clothing, sentimental items from your kid’s preschool craft sessions, your high school sports awards…
One thing immediately comes to mind for me. I keep around any and all nails, screws, brackets, or any leftover materials from DIY projects. Some of you could be commending me in your head right now… “He is so wise!”
But little do you know that I have never ever once not gone to the local Home-Depot to buy all new materials for the next project!
Don’t you look at me like that! We all have our things.
Whatever you hoarding tendencies are, here is the truth I want us to dwell on today. A Full life has little to do with things we accumulate.
I’m sure there are some purchases or inheritances that temporarily brought you happiness… but don’t play a role in your current level of joy.
I would actually opine the opposite. My parents somewhat recently moved out of my childhood home. They describe their experience of de-cluttering one that has actually made them happier! It has made life simpler! They didn’t realize how much their ‘stuff’ had been subtly stealing their freedom.
Now they are pretty much minimalists like the cool kids!
All kidding aside, your one challenge today is this. Pick day to de-clutter your home, your bedroom, your office… whatever. See how you feel afterwards.
Minimalism is not Deprivation-ism.
It’s not meant to deprive you of things you love.
But here is a great question to ask yourself!
Do the things I own have a purpose or bring me joy?
Say yes to living life lighter! With less that weighs you down! To creating more room to fill your life with the things that no money can buy.
