Minimalism, a simpler better life.

Generally, people believe minimalism is for people who have failed in life or who are too lazy to go out and get what they want. They believe being a minimalist means you are sacrificing things. Although generally, people discover minimalism through stress or struggle like I did! It does not mean you cannot afford things, it means you are thoughtful for the items you bring into your life.

While the mainstream perception is hard to change, if you look with an open mind, you would learn that minimalism is a tool. That if used correctly it can improve your life and the life of those around you.

Being a minimalist is a mindset, it is not a set of rules. Although regularly in the minimalist groups on Facebook it can be like you need to keep up with the minimalists. You don’t need to remove everything from your life except a mattress and a lamp, which I have seen countless times where people show off look how great they are at being a minimalist. The point of it is you can actually have more of what you need, or what brings you great joy. Less of what you don’t need, the things you that cause you stress and anxiety. It’s about removing the negative feelings you get when you don’t have the latest and greatest to show off. The Minimalist mindset can help make living life a lot less stressful and more fulfilling.

What minimalism is to me!

My minimalist lifestyle is all about keeping all of the modern conveniences I need, the items that add value to my life. Then by removing all the conveniences that I just want, used once then just watch as it takes up valuable space. I would love to live in a cabin in the woods fully powered by solar electricity, a wood burning stove and a bathroom with a compost toilet system. All my food is grown in my garden, and a few animals providing me with eggs, meat and milk. Currently, this is not a practical option for me, so I live in my modern house in suburbia much the way I did before the change.

I now value my relationships more than material possessions. I make decisions based on what I need instead of what I want. It does not mean the things I buy are cheap because I buy to last I choose quality over price as if I buy something it is something I need, and I want it to last as long as it can. Additionally, I want it to be made by someone who shares my values rather than a distant Chinese manufacturer, this is the hardest step of all.

For me minimalism changes with you, it’s an evolution I have started off being a frugal minimalist. I began my journey by going through my home and getting rid of all the things I no longer needed or used. I now embrace a more minimalist style, for the simple reason it has a calming effect on my soul. I looked at where my money was being spent and I identified where I was wasting the money I earnt.

What has been a minimalist done for me!

I am an incredibly motivated and career orientated person, I work incredibly hard and I earn a good living. Removing all the clutter from my life gave me a new perspective, now instead of spending my money on stuff I don’t need, I plan and save. Pay off all my debts, spend as much time with my wife and children as I can and do things with them I did not have time for before. We now live and get by with the simple bare necessities of life, Like Blue in the jungle book. I make sure our house is in a perfect state of repair (shelter) I make sure we eat good quality (nutrition) and I focus on building good social ties and bonds with my nucleus family and tier 1 and 2 friends and family

To the outside world, I live the same life as everyone else with small changes that bring greater value to my life.

How decluttering my living space has helped me.

When you remove all the unnecessary stuff from the drawers, wardrobes, garages and lofts, you create more space in your home. All that space made me feel like I had more room to breathe. More importantly, when I let go and sold and gave away my stuff, I realized how much money I wasted. When I totaled it up and converted it into an hourly rate I was shocked at how many hours of my life I sacrificed for these items. This gave me the motivation to continue this journey.

 Minimalism helped me refocus my values.

When you obsess over material things, you very rarely just focus on what you have. More often you focus on what you don’t have, this creates negative feelings. You worry about how you are to pay for all the stuff not to mention after a number of years you start to run out of space for all your stuff which creates a whole new stress. When the stuff is gone and the bills of the home are lessened, it becomes possible to focus time and energy on the important things such as the people around you and the things you are doing.

Spend less and you will have more.

The money spent buying the items you don’t need, maintaining them and making sure you have the best and newest models will end up in the pocket of the businesses that drive you to need these items. When you stop spending money on things you don’t need you will need fewer things, you can use your money to pay off debt and that will eventually free up even more money. The idea of minimalism is to remove your dependencies on money, so you can focus on you, your family and important things like raising your children as a present parent.

Time is a valuable commodity that you do not have an infinite amount of

When you need less money, you do not have to work as much. That frees up time. You are also not going to spend as much time dealing with all the extra things in your life. You can focus your time on the things you need and use the extra time that is created on the things you enjoy.

You feel better, your mood is lifted

Without all of the unnecessary complication that material possession bring, you get to waste less energy of doing things you hate and more time doing things you love hopefully with the people you love this is scientifically proven to lift mood as spending time with loved ones amplifies the body’s production of serotonin and oxytocin with lift mood without the need of pharmaceuticals. People without the burden of materialistic values live a healthier and longer life as a result.

Minimalism is lifestyle a choice, you can choose how it will best benefit you. There is no right or wrong when it comes to minimalism despite what people say.

Everyone is different. What most people will find is once they begin their minimalistic journey, the experience will change them their needs will vary depending on the stage of life. Life has infinite possibilities and variable but by using minimalistic values to steer your choices you will find peace, love, happiness and joy. Your relationships will be better than ever. You will feel that your life is not just a meaningless endeavor, instead, you will feel like it’s an amazing journey.

Thanks for reading

My Expedition Happiness

So, six months ago I discovered that my definition of happiness was incorrect. For my entire life, I only ever wanted one thing and that was to be a successful businessman, the day I closed my business down and admitted failure was probably the hardest and saddest day of my life.
From that misery and sorrow came a new feeling, like a phoenix being born from the ashes of everything I had lost. I was now a failure! but nothing changed, my family still loved me and my friends were still my friends. I know in my heart now that my family and friends will always be there, my children still love me and my wife still stands at my side, from that experience I learnt that I don't need much to live a happy life and that failure is only a lesson. When you realise you already have everything, and everything is the people in your life that changes the game and the rules we believe true.

Life is a series of lessons some are easy some are hard, some may seem right and others wrong. In the end, they lead you through a life of your own design. We like to blame others for our shortcomings and take all the credit for our successes but often its the other way round.

When you realise that your success comes from the people you surround yourself with, not your personal achievements. Happiness comes from relationships with the people that surround you and the experiences you share together, not things you show off to people who mean nothing to you. When you understand this and embrace these people you will start to feel better and happier and more motivated than ever, to pursue your ambitions whatever they may be.

Since I stopped thinking about myself and start thinking about those around me, my mood and positivity elevated to levels I have never experienced in my life to date. I have never considered myself an optimist or a people person before I discovered this mindset, but I do now I feel so positive and so connected to people, not just my close circle of friends and family but the broader network of people that I come in contact with every day.

After stripping my life of the material things that I coveted before I never had time to think about my relationships, I did not think of what I contributed to them and what I took from them, as they all were second to my blind ambitions.

Minimalism opened my eyes to what I was wasting my life chasing but the people in my life, who I love changed my life. I'm happy now and I believe it because I'm now open to happiness. I look for meaning in everything I do, I try to connect with all the people I come into contact with on a daily basis, even if it is just to stop say how are you and take in the response with interest and consideration.

If I could teach my children one thing it would be. Stop thinking that having more of anything will make you happy. Happiness is created by people and the relationships you form it is in our biology, it is as important to our body as eating and exercising. Eat the right food and exercise and your body will thrive eat the wrong food and be lazy and you will become weak and sluggish. Relationships are the same full your life with good people be kind and considerate to all and you will be rewarded with happiness treat people badly and surround yourself with people who treat you badly and you will be miserable.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post as always I use this blog to get my learning for my own life experiences I hope you have enjoyed reading this post.