You might have heard about minimalism, and imagine an empty room with no furniture, a tiny home, a closet with all same coloured clothes. Let me iterate that minimalism can look like that, however, it doesn’t have to. Minimalism is not the same for everyone, it doesn’t have a one-size-fit-all approach. As we are all different, each person can have a different minimalism path. However, the end point, or at most points during the journey, will resemble each other: freedom, liberation, happiness, meaning, self-actualization, and peace.
I am definitely not at the end point yet, and I know it is hard to be definitely there. However, I already feel more at peace and somewhat at a much better place mentally since I started to LET GO of the unnecessities.
Minimalism can look like anything:
- a messy room
- a box full of mismatched socks
- a pile of books
- a head full of anxious thoughts and loneliness
What I found what the pursuit of minimalism can do is it’s giving you back the SENSE OF CONTROL to your life.
- Yes, you can have a messy room, but with the pursuit of minimalism, you don’t feel that the task of cleaning up the room is dreary and impossible. By starting to let go of your unnecessary belongings, you regain your sense of control and confidence that this task will take no time and it actually will take no time to do. Thanks to minimalism!
- Yes, I still have a big box of socks as I haven’t had time, and haven’t been able to let go of yet. But I know that, with the more time I have on my hand now, I will tackle that box in no time. I will be able to let go of mismatched socks and only keep the ones that I use the most (a quick tip: if you have the problem of mismatched socks like me, maybe when you start your stock piles again, commit to buying the same colour socks like black or white, even from the same brands. Then you won’t have mismatched socks anymore! 🙂 )
- A pile of books can take up a lot of space. However, I am confident that I can LET GO of them knowing that they are going to someone that needs them more than me. I may keep a few that I love, but now, with the free library card, I can access so many books for free, absorb those beautiful knowledge, and return them later. (I LOVE MY LIBRARY! THANK YOU, LIBRARY STAFF.)
- It’s hard to avoid negative feelings when I am constantly scrolling on social media and seeing others’ beautiful photos, posts, and life. I feel lonely and anxious most of the time. At those points, I apply my minimalism practice by allowing those feelings to pass and focusing on things that I can control like messaging a friend that I have been wanting to check in or writing (like right now!). This practice helps me LET GO of the negative feelings and FOCUS on the relationships that I do have.
So if you ever want to ask if minimalism is for you or how you should start. Start with your why, then start with a drawer, or a box, or a negative feeling that you have, ask yourself what is necessary, what you should let go of, what is or is not adding value to your life. LET GO of the UNNECESSARIES and FOCUS on what adds to your VALUE/your WHY. Start MINIMALIZING the UNNECESSARY part of your life to MAXIMIZE your WHY.
Follow my journey to learn more!