A Minimalist Lifestyle: Your Key to Happiness

A minimalist lifestyle focuses on necessities. And further still, the unfulfillment of a need does not evoke a negative emotion.

Minimalists work their way around what’s available. So, if someone is always in a state of contentment, can he ever be unhappy?

Understanding Minimalism

Understanding this idea takes some time and effort. But once you do, it’s pure bliss.

Think of excessive wants as the clutter in an organized room. Doesn’t that clutter make you feel stressed, unproductive, and dissatisfied?

Once you clean up the room and put things in their correct place, your feelings change for the better. The act feels like unburdening yourself from some unwanted baggage. 

Now apply this analogy to minimalism and excessive wants. The former is the perfect antidote to wanting too much. 

You see, clutter is always created by having too much, not too little. Excessive possessions are never good for mental health. They make you restless and stressed, just like that extra clutter in the room.

Addressing the Naysayers of the Minimalist Lifestyle

The critics of minimalism argue that discarding unnecessary things results in more waste. This is an erroneous belief because minimizing waste is part of minimalism and a very important one too. You repurpose, reuse, and recycle, not throw things away in heaps of garbage to get rid of them.

Minimalism starts by buying less. In a minimalist lifestyle, you look at your current resources whenever you need something new. The purpose is to get creative and utilize what you already have to minimize buying. You only purchase something when it is unavoidable.

And even then, you ensure not to be wasteful. So, habits like being spendthrift or careless are also out of the question.

Does Minimalism Cause Unhappiness?

Another common reason used to oppose minimalism is that it robs a person of the joys in life. One must ask what those joys are associated with. For example, if a person loves cars, would it be sufficient to have one that barely meets his needs? Will that make him happy?

No, he would want more or, even better, upgrade to the newest version as soon as it is available. Being unable to do so will cause resentment. In this case, even fulfillment does not help. That’s because the problem lies with the mindset. 

What Connects Minimalism with Happiness?

Wanting more always leaves room for a void. And that void equates to sadness. You feel like something is missing.

On the other hand, knowing that you have everything you need is a satisfactory feeling. It results in positive thinking and gratitude.

Moreover, minimalists take pride in being more environmentally conscious. There is joy in doing the right thing.

How Does it Help with Daily Life?

Practically, a minimalist lifestyle makes your life easy. Fewer possessions, fewer worries.

Overthinking individuals can take advantage of minimalism too. It helps declutter the mind and focus on things that matter.

How to Become A Minimalist? 

Once you understand minimalism, it feels like a natural choice. It resonates with spirituality and the essence of most religions as well.

That is why material wants today have taken people farther away from happiness. That’s because they keep looking for it in all the wrong places.

Happiness is looking at the colors of the sky at the crack of dawn. It is hearing a baby giggle or watching a flower bloom. Happiness is stargazing at night.

These are a few examples of things people are blinded to because they want material gains. But none of those gains would equal the feeling of these unfiltered, profound moments.

Final Thoughts

Minimalism cannot be dictated. It has to be felt and understood. And in that process, you will end up finding happiness too. So, just let go of what’s unnecessary and embrace true happiness.

In no time, you’ll see so many other advantages. But since most people are desperate for happiness, that’s the most important reason to adopt minimalism. This won’t be a favor to yourself alone but to everyone and everything around you.