Simplifying your life isn’t about your possessions — it’s about value

Jennifer Taylor Chan

A minimalist lifestyle looks different for everyone. For me, it’s helped me pay down $42,000 of student loans in just over two years, lend more of my attention to my loved ones, and set me on a path of intentional living. In the past six months, I’ve felt happy, healthy, and at peace.

While I can’t guarantee that what I have incorporated into my life will do the same for you, reflecting on a few of these things may help provide clarity to your life.

Adopting a minimalist lifestyle is an immensely personal journey.

It’s about reducing the things in your life that aren’t providing value, so you can have more space for the things that truly matter. It’s subtraction for addition.

Minimalism has its fair share of critics. It’s elitist. It’s something poor and low-wage earners can’t incorporate into their life. It’s insensitive to those who don’t have enough to purge. I’ve heard it all before and in large quantity. But my definition of minimalism isn’t about that. It’s not about white walls, expensive capsule wardrobes, and pairing down to a few things that are top of the line. It’s not an aesthetic that can be displayed on Instagram.

For me, minimalism has always been about a shift in mindset. Silencing the noise of an increasingly loud world. Calming the millions of thoughts that flow through my monkey mind. Giving myself permission to slow down and take a breath.

With so much going on at work and at home, I found that the only way I could survive was to make my life as simple as possible.

By reducing the number of decisions I make, avoiding consumption as a substitute for happiness, and establishing simple systems for things like my meals and my money, I’m able to focus more on the things that truly matter: health, work and my loved ones. Since this shift, I am happier, calmer, and feel more free.

Fonte: adaptado de < https://medium.com/s/story/a-minimalist-lifestyle6c2872c28473>. Acesso em: 02 Março 2020