Minimalism: An inspiring way to rid yourself of life’s excess

Like me, you may have spent many years pondering your life’s purpose. Heck, you might still be wondering why you are here. Minimalism is one of the main tools I have used to find happiness in life. I want to share with you an important lesson I’ve learned along my journey. 

One common misconception of discovering meaning in your life is that it’s really hard to do. However if you can answer the following two questions, you’re already halfway there.

Question ONE: What do you want? And why?

Question TWO: What motivates you to get out of the bed every morning? 

How does minimalism help me achieve a balance?

In order to reach your balanced lifestyle you need to unclutter your life to be able to focus on what really matters to you.

LESS IS MORE. Having less stuff, less obligations, less mental clutter, less distractions will allow you to have more joy, more control over your life, more time for meaningful things, more time to spend with your loved ones and to pursue what empowers and motivates you, whatever that is!

Minimalism explores different ways of living meaningful lives. There is not a recipe to follow to be a minimalist. You may find good ideas and inspiration through other’s minimalist lives to help you find yours.

But… What is minimalism?

Here are several definitions from “minimalism” experts and thought leaders in the USA:

“It’s a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom”  Theminimalists.com

“It’s a way to escape the excesses of the world around us — the excesses of consumerism, material possessions, clutter, having too much to do, too much debt, too many distractions, too much noise. But too little meaning. Minimalism is a way of eschewing the non-essential in order to focus on what’s truly important, what gives our lives meaning, what gives us joy and value”  Mnmlist.com

“What Minimalism is really all about is reassessment of your priorities so that you can strip away the excess stuff – the possessions and ideas and relationships and activities – that don’t bring value to your life”  Exilelifestyle.com

What life is like before minimalism

Over the years we have worked one-on-one in homes with people just like you who were looking for an alternative way to live. Each person and home was different. We helped them go through their belongings to discover that they:

• held onto things they no longer needed
• never gave themselves permission and time to properly sort, organize, and create homes for their belongings
• felt guilty letting things go and not wanting them to be in the landfill, but not knowing where to donate
• lacked skills to privately sell or auction things they didn’t need but held a lot of value
• fell behind and the years passed before they realized how deep they got into clutter
• health or injury prevented them from doing work they used to be capable of
• had never been exposed to ideas like minimalism, decluttering, and home organizing
• were grieving the loss of a loved one, job, or relationship change
  
• felt ashamed that they could not do the work alone

Finding perspective

And this is not a complete list. There are many reasons as to why people seek or discover minimalism. Both Emilio and I were lucky to discover ours with the help of a backpack. You see, when you travel with everything you need on your back for a few years… this experience really helps you build a perspective on what, physically, you require to have a happy life. And the time I spent on the road with little money and few belongings were the moments where I discovered my happiness. I discovered a true version of myself and that helped me live and lead a life I’m very proud of now. Change and happiness is 100% possible. I’m living proof.