#Minimalist living ideas how to#

Sometimes you can’t avoid the cause of these difficulties, but often times there are changes you can make to simplify and enjoy life once again. Eliminate the ComplexitiesĮvery once in a while life gets difficult and you may find there are barriers that prevent you from being happy. This can include your belongings, activities, relationships and your digital life. Having awareness, clarity, and focus helps you uncover what’s most important to you and, subsequently, simplify decision-making in most areas of life.Ī great place to start when adopting a minimalist lifestyle is decluttering.

#Minimalist living ideas how to#

When you live a minimalist lifestyle you learn how to prioritize and focus your energy and resources on these things over others that you don’t deem as important. The essentials are the people, activities, and things in life that you care the most about.

Here are a few ways of practicing minimalism that provide a more realistic - and attainable - perspective for the individual seeking to become a minimalist. You don’t need to embark on a massive campaign to completely renounce modern day living. It doesn’t mean that you need to be frugal or that you must always make major tradeoffs. Minimalism doesn’t mean that you can’t indulge in the things that you enjoy.

They are distinct ideals, but sometimes when discussing simple living people inadvertently make confusing suggestions that equate this concept to that of altruistic abstinence or selfless sacrifice. Minimalism, however, needs to be distinguished from its very distant half-cousin. Regardless, in the cases above and those similar, there is a much higher purpose that the practitioner seeks. Sometimes there is worldly motivation for asceticism, such as the so-called “starving artist” who severely simplifies life in order to spend all of their energy and resources on their craft. Though it has evolved in modern times, early believers in this mystical Islamic ideal only wore a rough wool robe (as the name implies) and intensified their devotion through a strict life of modesty and selflessness. no contact with family, no use of electricity, etc.) to purify and discipline themselves and gain self-realization. Examples of this include:įollowers of the Ancient Greek philosophy who reasoned people can be happier by aligning themselves more closely with nature and rejecting all mainstream desires (fame, wealth, power, sex, etc.).Ī community of monks and nuns in India who completely detach from social and secular activities (e.g. Ascetics give up sensual pleasure and material goods due to the belief that an austere lifestyle is more expedient in the attainment of their religious, spiritual or philosophical goals. There’s a difference between self-denial and self-control. It is important not to confuse that with minimalism. Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by extreme self-denial or abstinence from worldly pleasures.

Let’s start by addressing a common misconception: minimalism is not asceticism. This can apply to your home, work, relationships, wardrobe, finances, possessions, or simply your mindset. Minimalism is the practice of living with the things that you need and nothing more. The definition of a minimalist lifestyle is removing the unnecessary things in life to focus on the essential. ACCESS NOW What is a minimalist lifestyle?