A minimalist lifestyle is a system of living that requires one owning few material possessions. Only items that are of high value and great importance are owned. By letting go of the things we do not need, we tend to focus more on the important things which are essential and beneficial to our living as a whole. Minimalism helps us get rid of excesses in life for us to focus completely on important things in order for us to find happiness, fulfilment, and freedom within the being.
By borrowing the idea of minimalism, we will find happiness at the peak of our lives. Minimalists do not seek happiness through material things. They rather help us enjoy life at its peak through life itself. It is now left for you to determine what is necessary and what is extravagant in your life. Remember, there is nothing as good when you only live with things that are necessary for your existence. Doing without the distraction of excess possessions can help to focus more on those things that matter most.
Minimalism comes with lots of benefits to our existence; among them is it helps us pursue our passions, discover our missions, experience real good freedom, consume less, focus on our health, grow as individuals, contribute beyond ourselves, rid ourselves of excess stuff, and discover purpose in our lives. You should note that the idea of minimalism came with intentionality, which is promoting things we value the most and removing whatever that distracts us from them in life.
Here, we have organized for you a bunch of benefits of living a minimalist lifestyle. Try to digest every point we give in this section and you will never regret your decision.
Mind clarity
There is a huge connection between our state of mind and our physical possessions. What we own has an impact on our mindset and mental clarity. Simply put: own less, and you have more peace. Trying to rummage through a lot of possessions can be very stressful, or imagine looking for something amidst of so many things that you own. These things take a toll on our mind and reduce clarity. Sometimes owning less gives one a sense of calmness. Whatever it is you don’t need, give it out or get rid of it.
Financial stability
When you choose to own and spend on essential things, it gives financial freedom and helps in shooting up your savings. Cutting down on impulse buying and attending fewer parties that make you spend more can help you channel resources into places that matter. Minimalism teaches that your true worth is not defined by what you own. Some possessions are more of liabilities than assets. For example, why would you own a car when you are not financially buoyant to maintain it by fueling it and maintaining it? These things are cost-consuming, and only a minimalist would see this and adjust to it so as not to be in financial crisis.
Increased happiness
Minimalism brings happiness in a natural way because you flow towards things that matter most in life. A simple lifestyle helps to let go of the things that can stress one, thus giving space for peace and calmness of mind. No longer will you feel tied to your material possessions to derive happiness but instead you create your happiness by yourself; a whole new sense of independence.
Improved health
Living a minimalist life helps to improve one’s quality of life. Most of the stress we go through due to our material possessions or situations in the workplace have hazardous effects on our body and health. Cutting back on some of these things could turn out to be a lifesaver. Clearing things from your schedule which are deemed unnecessary would make you take better care of yourself and add value to your health. A minimalist lifestyle makes you appreciate your health and urges you to take care of yourself. It gives you time for family, personal time, and even allows you to make new friends. All of these eventually culminate in improving the general well-being and mental health preservation of a person.
Better time management
Everyone keeps complaining that they do not have enough time or that there is never enough time, but not so many evaluate what they spend their time doing. Most times people cannot account for how they spend their day, and in the end, it’s more like a wasted day. Try clearing your schedule at night for a week and take the extra time to do things you love with those who matter to you. Fill up that extra time with activities that are productive, and less stressful, and you’ll enjoy your day more.
Self-confidence and self-reliance
A minimalist lifestyle helps you become more reliant on yourself and less on your possessions. At times one may feel the need to own the latest of clothes and models of gadgets to feel good and fulfilled about one’s self, but also imagine how awesome it would be to be so confident and feel good about yourself even without them. Happiness should never be determined by what you own. Most times these things are distractions and occupy space in our lives that is not even needed. Daily the world throws at us that you can only gain happiness through material things; it is the main reason we struggle and hustle every day to try to make ends meet, and neglect important things. The money would never guarantee happiness, but it certainly can guarantee comfort. Once we attain that comfort, we should be satisfied. This, in turn, gives a sense of confidence not because of what one owns but basically because of the knowledge one possesses and which one is.
Improved relationships
Living a minimalist lifestyle helps in improving relationships with family members and friends. It makes you stop seeing them as competitors in owning the biggest or better of material possessions, as your mind is channeled away from such. It makes you stop trying to impress people and rather build up a relationship and connect with them. Minimalism allows you to spend more time with people and live beyond selfish desires and ephemeral belongings. It frees us from the burden of making friends and acquaintances based on what we want to get from them and in turn helps us to channel our strength into building the relationships that matter.
Greater purpose
A minimalist lifestyle helps to clear out all unnecessary and unimportant activities from your life, giving you a sense of purpose. Motivation sets in and abuse of time is curbed. It also reduces commitments and allows you to have an order or scale of preference in doing things, thus taking them very seriously.
Reduces the failure phobia
The most dangerous, resilient, and most determined people for success are those with nothing to lose and everything to gain. These people have no fear because they do not have anything to lose. When you are not held back by your material possessions, pursuing your dreams and maintaining a level of satisfaction would be attainable. The truth is sometimes we give too much importance to things that do not matter by trying to maintain a certain lifestyle, so we refuse to take risks that could positively impact our lives because we are scared that we would not be able to continue that lifestyle anymore. A minimalist lifestyle gives you the freedom to financially adapt.
Freedom from the modern frenzy
The modern world today places more emphasis on comparison and ownership of material possessions. It is dominated mainly by greed, and thus people end up acquiring more than they will ever need. A minimalist lifestyle clamors for a low-key life and minimal material possessions. It gives room to make decisions only based on needs and immediate wants. The impulse of buying things and accumulating possessions that have no relevance or add value to our lives is reduced. Only materials that would last and add value would be purchased, meaning we get to spend our hard-earned money on meaningful things and save the rest.
Personal growth
Appreciation of the little things in life that makes one happy is made possible through minimalism. It gives room for self-evaluation thoroughly and makes us focus on the good things in our lives instead of dwelling on the negative ones. Our deepest heart desires can be gradually attained through minimalism as distractions are being trimmed down. The little things we do in life that make us happy enhances productivity and well-being.
Environmentally-friendly
Living a minimalist lifestyle tends to be environmentally-friendly. The less consumption of material possessions that can cause health and environment hazards we consume, the less damage our environment suffers. It helps us to be a part of nature conservation by keeping in touch with it.
Reduces stress
A minimalist lifestyle is less stressful. It filters out all irrelevancies and leaves you focused on things that matter. It creates room so we can fill our lives up not just with possessions but with meaning and purpose. A minimalist lifestyle rewards us by making us put a value on things which will be of great reward and avoid the distracting ones. Possessions can be a distraction, as they demand time and energy which can, in turn, be stressful. We all deserve a life where we can move around freely with no burden on our shoulders.
Makes one charitable
The pathway to a minimalist lifestyle is by giving out the excess possessions that you do not need. The fact that they are not useful to you does not mean someone else will not appreciate having them. Minimalism encourages giving, and by giving, we make others happy through our lifestyle.
Long-lasting memories
A minimalist lifestyle affords you plenty of time to spend judiciously with those whom you love, doing what you enjoy most also. Instead of using the time to pursue ephemeral belongings and properties, which would become useless or probably cost you so much to maintain, it allows you to shift your focus to memories instead of possessions. These memories spent doing these things would last for a lifetime and keep you happy, thereby increasing lifespan. Those who live simple lifestyles tend to live longer than those with so many possessions.
