You have to figure out other things to do with yourself besides shopping and browsing shopping sites. You get to know Craigslist, Goodwill and other charities all too well as you clean out your clutter. In order to better prepare you, my lovely and good-hearted reader, for minimalism, it’s my duty to point out some of the downsides. But there is a downside to everything, including minimalism. It’s true that I might too often make minimalism seem like it’s all roses, all upside. And when the cost of the deal is too great, too dear … walk away. You don’t need to walk away from everything, but you should know that you can. If you know that there’s almost nothing you can’t walk away from, you can save yourself tons of money. Someone else might know that those aren’t essential to happiness, and can walk away. If you are convinced that you need Starbucks grande lattes every day, or an iPhone or iPad, or an SUV or Cooper Mini or BMW … you are in the weak position, because you can’t give it up. Someone else who knows that those things aren’t absolutely necessary can walk away, and not need to spend so much money (and thus work hours) on that kind of house. You will give away precious life hours and savings to get it. If you are convinced you need a nice house with a walk-in closet and hardwood floors and a huge kitchen, you now have a weakness. Know that there’s almost nothing you can’t walk away from. This is true of negotiating when you’re buying a car, closing the sale of your new home, haggling in a foreign flea market, or trying to get a raise. Those who are convinced they need to make the deal are in the weakest position. Those who can walk away from the negotiation - legitimately walk away, not just make a show of it - are in the strongest position. In any kind of negotiation, your ability to walk away is your strongest tool. Not obsessing over possessions, but being mindful. It’s figuring out what works best for you (and your family if you have one) but being more mindful of what you own and do. So minimalism isn’t just one way of life. But that’s just one way.Īnother way is to live in a home that’s big enough (but not overly huge) for your family’s needs, and to only have what you need and not too much more, and to not focus so much on consumption but more on doing the things you love with the people you love.Īnd yes, you can travel the world from time to time, with just a small backpack each. Sure, lots of minimalists are bachelors who can easily work anywhere and travel the world with a backpack, or perhaps families who travel and work and live all over the place with almost no possessions. The kind of minimalism they’re referring to is only one way to do it. I read a post recently where a blogger and commenters were talking about how minimalism sucks, because owning nothing and traveling the world with nothing but a small suitcase means you’d never have savings or a safe home for your kids. Let’s let go of the need to know, every second of the day, and let our minds wander around in the dark for a bit. And really, I think there’s something minimalist about it. How our ancestors must have lived! (Or, you know, me in the early 90s.) Not knowing something means I am walking around blind, without a direct path, and I must live with that, work with that. It’s not a matter of life or death, or national security, or anything important really. Is it a true need, to know right now? Can I not wait 30 minutes, or even a few hours, or a day? Of course I can. I’d know in like 4 seconds!īut then I pause, and examine that urge. One of the things I’ve noticed from turning off my computer periodically throughout the day (I work in 30-minute chunks), is that when the computer is off, I often think of a question I want answered - and my first instinct is to go to the computer and search. Most of the time, you had to settle on not knowing. If you wanted to know something, you might turn on the TV and hope to get lucky, or look in your encyclopedias (if you had them) and hope to get lucky, or go to the library and hope to get lucky. Isn’t that incredible? Just 20 years ago, that was unthinkable. Google, Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, et al will tell you anything you want to know, right now. Who is the lead boy actor in Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom? Search. Who the heck is Gabriel Garcia Marquez? Ask Wikipedia. What’s the weather like outside? Do a quick check of your weather app. These days, nearly everything we want to know is a few keystrokes away, almost instantly gratifying our desire to know something. You can also find lots of great ideas about finding focus in life and cultivating mindfulness by reading Leo’s Zen Habits blog. All of these selections were originally published on Leo’s mnmlist blog.
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