Minimalist

• In pretty much every current developed culture, there is an over-emphasis on achieving happiness by having more stuff. We’re encouraged to base our self-esteem on what we have, compared to others. It doesn’t have to be that way. In a world where many things are abundant, we actually have increased ability to decide what we want to possess at any one moment because we know that if we need most things in the future, we will be able to get them “on demand.”

• Minimalism is a mindset where we strive to have only the things that make our lives better, and no more. It’s not about sacrifice or being deprived. A recent article on the Live Well With Less website explains it well:

“Minimalism at a personal level is best described by the Swedish word lagom. Lagom is defined as ‘enough, sufficient, adequate, just right.’ It is also widely translated as ‘in moderation,’ ‘in balance,’ ‘perfect-simple,’ and ‘suitable.’ Notice there are no connotations here of an insufficiency that leads to deprivation and certainly no excess that results from over-consumption. Minimalism is like pouring tea into a cup. Too little tea will fail to satiate a need (thirst), and too much will result in an overflowing cup that requires time and effort to clean up.”

• In part, you can simplify by considering using services instead of purchasing things. For example, instead of owning a car, you can use ride share services, or rather than owning a lawn mower, hire a company to cut your grass. Why should we buy objects that will immediately lose their value and will eventually end up in a landfill? Often it’s because it’s more affordable in the long run, but that will change. More and more services will move toward being cheaper than owning.

Therefore: