Minimalism - What is and how it can help us achieve more

Minimalism is when we live only with the things, people or routines that we absolutely need. It means having, being and being surrounded by fewer things or people, so that you can do more with your time and life.

In fact, there is no minimum or a maximum number of material things, clothes, people or tasks to have in your life. But having what makes the difference for you, what you can give 100% attention, enjoy and love.

To be minimalist is not to walk around with pierced clothes, craft accessories or a bamboo slipper with golden grass. I see many people arguing that minimalism is not having a car, not having children or living in a “tight spot” with a nice design chair. Sorry, but this is not being minimalist. You do not need to transform yourself into a “cricket animal” to adopt a minimalist lifestyle.

Minimalism is a lifestyle that can help you find freedom and happiness. But that does not happen overnight. You don't wake up on a beautiful sunny day, stretch and say: well, I'm going to be minimalist and I'm going to sell everything I have. Calm down, don't do that. Minimalism happens over time. If you are here reading this, it is because you are on the right path, looking for a life of freedom, without guilt after spending your hard-earned money and wanting to get rid of the idea that you need things to be happy.

Minimalist life allows you the freedom to spend less time and money on things and spend more energy on real-life with people you love and things you enjoy doing. If you don't like it, cut it out of your life. Life is too short to pretend to please someone. Please you!

Do not start more projects and do not finish

I believe that the problem for most people is to do many things and not finish them. We usually get involved in projects and we don't realize it. We started a diet, a gym, an English school or even a college and we were unable to finish our project. That's because we don't plan and we are doing things according to our will.

I understood that I didn't need anything to be happy

Since I was a child, I thought I needed to have things to complete my happiness, but over time I realized that the things I bought did not make me happy, in the end, they ended up stored in the bottom of the closet. What made me happy was the purchasing power. That later turned into guilt and a certain level of depression for not having money at the end of the month. All I had left was a credit card bill and payment slips. I found that saving the money to spend in moments that provided me with experiences was much more rewarding than buying things that would have no purpose or only one purpose in my life. After all, I needed more money and space to keep the things I bought.

Spent less

Every end of the month was that desperation to pay the credit card bill. When I looked at the invoice details, I didn't understand why the invoice was higher than what I earned. Looking more closely, I realized that I made a lot of small purchases of bullshit on a daily basis. Those little things, only 3$ here, 10$ there. At the end of the month, that sum of little things gave me a gigantic amount. I worked to pay debts for things I didn't use or remember that I had bought. I felt like a hamster running on its spinning wheel, it had entered a vicious circle.

impulse purchases

How did I spend less? It took a long time, it was like an alcoholic quitting alcohol, a daily struggle against my inner self and the urge to spend. I identified my problem: credit card and going to the market! After understanding my expenses, my card limit decreases, until I no longer depend on it and I started to make a shopping list before leaving the house, if I wasn't on the list I wouldn't buy it. If I already had 20 dress shirts, I didn't need one more. I would not use 20 at once. It was then that I started to decrease my consumption as well since I already had everything I needed to live (basic needs met). A super olive core remover wouldn't make me happy, I didn't need to buy it on impulse anymore. After all, I don't even eat olives.

I stopped buying things for a single-use

Have you ever seen those things that have a single-use? Just like the olive peeler, you will use once in your life? And still comes the question of an imaginary life that I talked about in the first item. You keep dreaming that you are going to use the object several times. Sorry, you will not use this more than once or you will have the situation you envisioned. Everyone has something like that at home or in life, be it an air mattress they bought for when a friend is at their house or even that farm that their family bought to go from time to time.

I had fun with few things

Buying less and reducing my impulse for expenses, I started to value more people and situations that I lived in day-to-day. I was able to really understand what the world offers us and we don't, because we are too busy or concerned with buying / paying for things. I started to appreciate more what I had and to detach myself from objects and possessions, that made me perceive the world around me.

I gave more value to what I had

As I stopped worrying about buying things, having things, keeping what I had bought and being nervous to pay for what I had spent, I started to give more value to what I had in my life and to thank the people and experiences I had. I learned that we will not take anything from this life, so there is no reason for me to be concerned with these objects and accounts that I generated because of them.

I gave more value to people and less to things

A simple conversation with the woman at the supermarket checkout or with the telemarketing attendant who called me to sell something I didn't need, started to have more value in my life. I was curious to know why the person was there, why he was doing that and how his day was. It made me learn about the adversities of life and appreciate the things that I was blessed with. I started to be grateful for these experiences because of learning.

I optimized my time

Buying less, I started to spend less and have less account to pay. More time was left for me. Besides, I spend less time organizing things I had. As I started to have fewer objects, I had that time I spent cleaning, storing or tidying up the things I had.

I lived in the moment without worrying about the future or things

I actually lived in a hamster race on his spinning wheel, spent a lot on nonsense that was of no use in my life and then was worried about my future. I was really concerned that I would have money to continue spending in the future. It was very inconsistent, do you spend your money and then wonder if you will be missing in the future? Stopping spending irrelevantly, I ended up saving my money and stopped having my head on future worries, with that I started to live my present more. I adopted a Japanese proverb for my life: Tomorrow is tomorrow, today is today.

I focused on my health, body and mind

I started to worry more about my body than things, so I invested more in my food, meditations and physical exercises. I took the focus off of concerns since many of them were not controlled by me and only hurt me. There was no use worrying about how I was going to pay the credit card since I had spent more than I could. It was a matter of mathematics and not of concern. Being nervous about a consequence of my actions was not the smartest way to deal with it. The way was to spend less and earn more. If I got sick (as I did), I couldn't work to pay the bills. It was then that I decided to invest more in myself and less in things.

I contributed more to society and the planet

I remember having stayed with my cell phone for 5 years and only changed it after falling on the floor and crashing all over. Even though he was old, he was doing his job. With that, without this compulsory exchange, I started to generate less waste for the planet.

I left you with this enigmatic picture, like a Rorschach test for yourself.

What can you let go and still end up with more?

I hope it made your day a little better.
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_{Love, @rafaeleff15}