Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around.
Real freedom.
Money. It rips families apart, ruins marriages, and keeps people from pursuing their dreams. Money troubles inject unnecessary stress, anxiety, and arguments into our daily lives, which keeps us in perpetual discontent. We never seem to have enough, and, living paycheck to paycheck, we can’t ever get ahead.
Most people have no idea where our money is going. We think we know, but we don’t really know. This is doubly true for those of us who are married or live with a significant other. Ergo, the first step toward financial freedom is establishing a written monthly budget. Note the three key words here: written, monthly,
and budget.
Contrary to what some academics might tell you,
there is no such thing as “good debt.”
Let’s say that again (read it out loud):
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS GOOD DEBT.
True, some debt is worse than other debt,
but it’s never “good.”
The truth is: you will not feel free until you are debt-free. The debtor is always slave to the lender. Besides, it feels pretty amazing to have no car payments, no credit-card payments, and no student-loan payments looming in the shadows of your lifestyle.
The shortest path toward freedom is: appreciating what you already have. One of the best ways to find gratitude for the gifts you’ve already been given is to change your perspective.
To do so, donate your most precious asset: your time. Bring your family to a local soup kitchen, foodbank, or homeless shelter. Tutor less-privileged children in your city. Help the elderly with groceries or in-home care. There are more resources than ever to help you contribute beyond yourself in a meaningful way; just do an Internet search for volunteer opportunities in your area.
We all know, at least intellectually, that we will benefit from truly living in the moment. And yet, too often, we peer forward, planning for some distant, hypothetical future, attempting to frame a contingency for every possible scenario, organizing our lives around what might be. Either that, or we’re scrutinizing our history, relishing or loathing the past, living for a time that once was.
Mindfulness is the quality of being present and fully engaged with whatever we’re doing at the moment — free from distraction or judgment, and aware of our thoughts and feelings without getting caught up in them. It doesn’t eliminate stress or other difficulties; instead, by becoming aware of unpleasant thoughts and emotions that arise because of challenging situations, we have more choice in how to handle them in
the moment.
Practicing mindfulness meditation can be a great way to manage stress and boost compassion, focus, empathy, patience, energy, and ultimately, happiness.
Today’s society has developed an unhealthy obsession with health and fitness. People spend tremendous amounts of money and time on fad diets, gym memberships, and dangerous supplements. We’re told we can’t figure out how to improve our health on our own and that getting healthy is a complicated process.
Move your body in a way you enjoy. Traditional “exercise” is not mandatory. Take advantage of local parks and go hiking, ride a bike, or anything else available in your area. Trying a new hobby is a terrific way to discover new passions and appreciate your body for the wonderful things it can do. You can also perform these activities with the family so everyone can improve their health and spend quality time with
each other.
Eat well, simply. Nutrition can seem complicated as a result of fad diets that come and go every few months, but it needn’t be. Research has proven what matters most: make sure your diet consists mostly of real, minimally processed foods. Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, beans and legumes, dairy, eggs, fish and seafood, and meat and poultry.
One of my favorite sayings is the journey is the destination. Even if you have excess weight to lose don’t focus exclusively on that goal. Instead concentrate on the daily journey. Enjoying delicious, satisfying meals with your family and moving your body in an enjoyable way. Do those things consistently and the additional benefits, such as weight loss, will be a tremendous side effect.
Think about this: are you in a relationship out of convenience, without considering the traits necessary to build a successful bond with another person? Maybe your relationship was birthed out of proximity or chemistry alone? Do you keep people around simply because they’re already around?
You can attempt to fix the relationship. You can change how your relationship works—be it marriage, friendship, or family—without completely ditching the relationship.
Sit down with the person who’s draining the vitality from your life and explain to them what must change in order for your relationship to work: Explain you need them to be more supportive, you need them to participate in your growth, and, although they are important to you, the relationship in its current state does not make you happy. Finally, ask them what they’d like to change about the relationship. Ask them how you can add more value. Listen attentively,
act accordingly.
If you’re unable to change the relationship, end it. This is difficult, but it applies to any relationship: family, friends, lovers, co-workers, acquaintances. If someone is only draining your life, it’s perfectly acceptable to tell them: “This relationship is no longer right for me, so I must move on.” You owe it to yourself to move on. You owe it to yourself to be happy in your relationships. You are in control.
The daily grind. The nose to the grindstone. The rush-hour traffic. The punching the clock. The cubical farms. The spreadsheet eyestrain. The much-anticipated lunch break. The inbox overflow. The arbitrary goals. The late nights at the office. The empty platitudes. The office gossip. The “productivity.” The downsizing. The “doing more with less.” The mounds of bills. The second job. The credit-card spending. The debt. The second mortgage. The beer gut. The midlife crisis. The retirement at 65. The volatile stock market. The retirement at 67 or 72 or 75. The death before retirement. The unyielding tiredness. The emptiness. The depression. The unshakeable discontent.
our society promotes workaholism in the form of “hustle culture”. It’s all about how “busy” we are, how many million things we’re juggling at the same time. Hustle culture has become the standard for many to gauge things like productivity and performance.
Working on and on and on may seem like an attractive thing at first glance, but what is actually accomplished? With studies showing that working overly long hours results in poorer mental health and increased anxiety, what kind of work output would you expect from a person suffering from these things? Hustle culture promotes simply accomplishing as many tasks as possible, with little regard to the quality of the work churned out. Many other studies abound showing that working long hours is detrimental to both productivity and creativity — especially in the long run.
Constantly working, on the other hand creates monotony and dullness. So make sure to take time off — spend it with family, volunteer for a good cause, pursue or discover a new hobby, travel to a great place. Anything but talking shop or obsessing about work.
Hustle culture is not the be all end all of working. In fact, it’s far from it. There are better ways to get things done.
Our society’s problem isn’t consumption; the problem is we the people. We are the problem. When we give too much meaning to the stuff we buy, when we think it will bring us happiness or contentment, we are setting ourselves up for failure.
Contentment is internal, and it is possible to be content with nothing or with a room full of stuff.
If you’re like most people, then there’s probably something in your life that’s holding you back. A closet filled with clothes you don’t enjoy. A garage or basement brimming with stuff. A bad habit. Something. Why are you holding on, though? Because it’s comfortable? Because it’s safe? Because society tells you you’re supposed to?
Perhaps now—right now—is the perfect time to let go. After all, what’s the worst that could happen? Or better yet: what’s the best that could happen? The only person who can give you permission to let go is you.
Choice is an essential part of life and being able to make choices for ourselves is a requirement for happiness. Yet, having more choice isn’t always a good thing. For instance, have you ever stood in the aisle of a supermarket unable to choose between 50 different flavors of yogurt?
In addition, ascomplexity or importance is increased, the amount of energy the analysis takes out of us increases, as well. In fact, having to make a choice at all creates negative emotions, which can lead to decision fatigue or a delay in making the decision.
Unless you are dealing with a life-altering decision like who to marry and what career path to choose, perfection is not the key. Your goal is to pick a moderately “okay” choice in a fair amount of time, and then move on. Every option has its own set of considerations. The perfect choice is almost never available right there and then for every decision — it’s something that you have to hunt down and/or create.
By incorporating minimalism into our lives, we’ve finally been able to find lasting happiness—and that’s what we’re all looking for, isn’t it? We all want to be happy. Minimalists search for happiness not through things, but through life itself; thus, it’s up to you to determine what is necessary and what is superfluous in your life.