“Minimalist is not a lack of something. It is simply the perfect amount of something.” Matt Burroughs.
I had a friend tell me once, “I wish you enough”. And it’s a sentence I’ve pondered for a long time. Firstly, I know it was a quote from a song of some kind but I can’t remember which song. The origin is a mystery to me. But it’s honestly been a profound lesson over the years. “I wish you enough”. Not exactly the type of well wishing you’d ever expect to want, but it’s become probably one of my most cherished memories and prayers.
I wish myself enough. I wish myself abundance as well, but not in the expected sense of a frivolous lifestyle with all the things and toys and expensive clothing etc.
I wish myself in “enough” in the sense of I wish myself enough money to support my life and my hobbies and my children. I wish myself enough things to be happy but not burdened by my “stuff”. I wish myself enough love and friendship that i feel cherished and supported. I wish myself enough success to feel fulfilled but not held down by my responsibilities.
I’m on a journey to less, but really I’m on a journey to enough.
Minimalism
Minimalism has been pretty main stream for a while and I won’t spend a lot of time summarizing it here.
Essentially, it’s a practice of having the things you need and love, moving away from excess.
I’ve been on a minimalism journey for a long time, and somehow it still hasn’t clicked with me. I can purge until the cows come home, but keeping my belongings to what I use, love and need seems to be a struggle for me.
I’m hoping to eradicate this problem and manage to develop better habits.
My problem I believe is I’ve always focused on just getting rid of stuff, but that’s only part of the journey. The bigger journey is changing our habits when it comes to our things and bringing more things in.
But minimalism isn’t as simple as just not spending money on things we don’t need, it’s a life style dedicated to the pursuit of less. It’s about the pursuit of just enough.
And I’m getting serious about it now.
Social Media
I’ve decided to cut myself off from social media. I find I just compare too much, I crave too much attention, I feel like I’m not enough. So, I’ve completely deleted my TikTok, Instagram and deactivated my Facebook. It’s been roughly a week of this and I feel so much lighter. I’m beginning to properly come back to myself.
I find myself really thinking about my time now and how I’m spending it instead of doom scrolling mindlessly.
Now, I haven’t cut out apps entirely. I still use YouTube, Pinterest and of course I’ve been writing for my blog. But in general, I’ve cut down on my scrolling immensely and find I’m actually much more intentional with my searches and viewings on the apps I still use.
It’s been a much needed detox.
My “Stuff”
Part of my journey is definitely about decluttering (again) and really think about what I’m keeping in my life.
Like I’ve said this is the easy part for me. Getting rid of the “Stuff” has never been the problem its been changing my other habits around things and spending money.
Mindless Consumerism
This is where the problem comes in. I’ve never managed to rid myself of my mindless consumerism habits(yet).
What’s the point of downsizing and cutting things that no longer serve me out of my life if I’m just going to continue the accumulation of “stuff” in my life.
The plan is to become much more intentional with what I bring into my life. I want to make sure the things I buy actually serve me.
My Mind
When it comes to being minimalist when it comes to my mind, the idea seemed very meta to me at first but after doing some research I realized it was all about fostering the idea of “less is more” when it comes to my thoughts, emotions and mental clarity.
How I plan to be minimal in this way is through a few simple practices. Like, no longer multi-tasking, “brain-dumping” in my journal daily and focusing on what I consume mentally daily.
My Time
I recently read “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown. Greg talks a lot about “less but better” in the book. Essentialism is essentially a guide to focusing time and energy to few tasks that really matter while eliminating the “trivial many.”
It’s genuinely a good read and I would recommend it whole heartedly.
Some key take aways from the book include shifting to a “i choose to” from a ” I have to” mindset, actively evaluating to eliminate non-essential activities to focus on what makes the highest contribution, and learning the power of “no”.
My Habits
I want to simplify my habits. Again, focusing on the “less is more” mentality by strategically spending my effort on habits that really matter. I don’t want to fill my days with “grunt” work, I want to streamline my daily tasks so they are as efficient as possible.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I hope it was helpful for you.
Best wishes always,
Ky <3