Less Is More

I’m a minimalist.  And, not simply about physical things.  Once I committed to minimalism, I realized it’s not only about decluttering, getting rid of too many possessions; it’s about minimizing other aspects of life.  The result of embracing a minimalistic lifestyle is peace, less stress, less tying me down, less to protect / preserve, is more down time, more consistency.  Less is, indeed, more.

What, in addition to physical things, can be minimized? According to Maura Bielinski, “Minimalism is a lifestyle that starts within. You have to mentally commit to simplify your pursuits, lifestyle choices, and belongings, and the results can be very rewarding. Minimalism is more than just getting rid of unnecessary possessions; it liberates you from superfluous burdens, unhealthy habits, and negative influences” (https://www.swiftfit.net/blog/minimize-your-life).

• Saying ‘Yes’ too often - Do you say, ‘yes’ to too many things?  When you do, you are likely stressing yourself.  Minimize by saying ‘no’ to some things and saying ‘yes’ occasionally.

• Spending lots of time on social media, gaming, watching tv -  Do you you often relax with some mindless scrolling, playing digital games, or binge watching tv and then realize you’ve been on for 3 hours?  If you do not set limits on how long you gratuitously engage for hours at a time, you may choose to minimize a little.

  • People-pleasing - Do you people-please too much, too often to too many people?  If so, let go of sucking up to others to get them to agree with you, like you, favor you.  Minimize the pleasing people trait.

• “Friends” - Are most of your “friends” on social media and you rarely engage with them in reality, in person?  Do you have hollow, toxic, boring, negative, envious, back-stabbing “friends" who are difficult to remain friendly with, who rarely text or get together with you, who are too busy for a relationship with you?  Let those “friends” go.  If they were important to you and you were important to them, let them go - minimize them out of your life.  They likely won’t miss you and you likely won’t miss them.  They aren’t truly friends.  By the way, this goes for family members too.  Sometimes, in order to enjoy a peaceful and less complicated life, you may need to minimize family members too.

• Ideas, thoughts, beliefs - Do you hold on to ideas, thoughts, beliefs that no longer serve you, don’t have deep meaning for you anymore, weigh you down with guilt, blame, shame?  Deconstruct them from your life.  Minimize them out of your life.

•  “Say ‘goodbye’ to things that drain you - “Another aspect of minimalism is removing unnecessary negativities—those emotional and mental tolls that don’t deserve a place in your life.  This is obviously a process—a journey—but with some introspection, categorizing that which makes you truly happy and what does not will help you break away from what you need to. Try making a list of aspects of your life that have been draining you emotionally and mentally. What are things on the list you would be able to cut out? There are inevitably some broad-scale burdens that are out of your power to control, but on the flip side, there are most likely trivial negativities that you do have control over, once you take a hard look at them. Start with small changes for the better and remove any elements that don’t bring any positive value” (https://www.swiftfit.net/blog/minimize-your-life).

• “Get your finances in order- Minimalism also applies to your spending habits and financial situation; applying minimalistic principles to spending could really benefit your finances. We all have our guilty pleasures that we know we spend a little too much money on. It could be a deadly online shopping habit, one too many credit cards, or too many subscriptions to entertainment or magazines. Comb through your bank records and find the weak links. What has been draining your budget in small but consistent ways?” (https://www.swiftfit.net/blog/minimize-your-life).  Keep in mind that it isn’t how much or how little money, salary, savings, investments you have, you can still minimize spending habits.

• Your yard, garden, lawn- Do you spend hours on your lawn?  Do you hang out in the garden center at your local Lowes every weekend from spring to fall each year?  Do you plant lots of annual flowers?  If so, you may want to consider minimizing.  Have a smaller garden of perennial plants.  Plant a vegetable and herb garden from which you can harvest edibles.  Consider a ‘yarden’ that doesn’t have a lawn, but has an organic, natural look to it.  Good friends of mine in Florida had the most magical yarden that never needed mowing.  While curb-appeal often means a pristine, chemically-managed, perfect lawn, it can, instead feature a minimal look that is tidy.

What have you minimized?  What was the result of your having minimize?  What do you want to minimize?  What will it take for you to minimize?  Please share your thoughts and insights by either commenting below this post if you are reading this on social media, or, if you are reading this through your email subscription, please share, by emailing me, at reimaginelife22@gmail.com.

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