Minimalism for the Millennials
What is minimalism or what do you mean by being a minimalist?
Well, some might say it’s a classy way to live or appreciating simplicity in any form or some might dismiss it by saying “restrictions” or weirdly some might say it as “It’s being as simple as the Apple design their products”, Okay the last one might have been be too much. But I think everyone has their own way to define what minimalism means to them, I think it’s a way to live with important things and important people, which actually matter, which you need and not just want just, to show the world that you have it.
Minimalism is a way to get rid of life’s excess in order to focus on what’s important, Minimalism simply allows you to make these decisions more consciously, more deliberately and that in-turn gives you freedom.
According to The Minimalist, It’s a way to escape the excesses of the world around us — the excesses of consumerism, material possessions, clutter, having too much to do, too much debt, too many distractions, too much noise. But too little meaning. Minimalism is a way of eschewing the non-essential in order to focus on what’s truly important, what gives our lives meaning, what gives us joy and value. And BTW do check out their Podcast “The Minimalists” It’s really awesome and also their Documentary “Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things”
The minimal way to explain Minimalism is “Minimalism is a lifestyle that helps people question what things add value to their lives.”. I hope you get the point!.
Fight Club is my Favorite movie of all time and Tyler Durden made the bold claim: “The things you own, end up owning you.”. I completely agree with and NO I’m not asking you to throw away all your possessions and go live in the Himalayas and be a Monk but, I do believe that you probably don’t need as much of the stuff you think you do and that getting rid much of it can be surprisingly liberating as well as make you happier.
Millennials are very much influenced by materialistic success and Identity Investment, Fight Club makes fun of how we need to own a bunch of nice stuff, have a perfect closet, perfect Apartment with bunch of furniture you don’t need to make it the perfect place to bring people in, Instead of actually going out and actually meeting people.
Identity Investment in possessions is pushed onto us by advertising and it works well. People get attached to companies and wear these companies as an Identity, I was also one of them who would call myself “Yo, Imma BlackBerry user”. This really becomes a problem when you are so obsessed with these companies that you end up buying each and every new product that they release when you don’t really need them and also it’s crazy how much time people spend a lot of mental energy choosing which item “represents” them best, therefore they begin identifying one as an “Apple User”, “Tesla Guy” and what the fuck not!.
And No, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t have a personal taste or not buy branded products, it’s just that don’t let that brand or whatever steal your Identity, Having a personal taste is a great thing, I think most of them don’t really have a personal taste they just like it because everyone likes it and whatever is on the trend.
Having a personal taste is a part of your Identity not which phone you use or the car you drive, It really blows my mind how many people are dumb fuck and follow the crowd.
And Yes, I’ve gotten rid of most of my stuff and Every step along the way, getting rid of what I didn’t absolutely need was painful, but at no point did I ever miss anything once it was gone. Ever. And now it’s easier than ever and it’s kind of satisfying to me.
Now let’s talk about something that I call “Digital Minimalism”
It’s same as Minimalism but just getting rid of your digital stuff, not like selling gadgets but not being glued to it, It’s about the idea of living a life of experience with less technology.
What does that mean?
It’s basically consuming content online which matters the most, You don’t have to watch all unboxing and reviews of all the latest and greatest gadgets if you are not going to buy any unless it’s your job or that’s what your end goal is.
The same goes for using any social media, you don’t have to watch what others post and the same way you don’t have to post all the fucking stupid things that you do all day, No one fucking cares whether if you go to some stupid mall or dominos, Nobody cares so stop posting it and live the moment that’s how you make memories not by posting the shit out of it with the stupid hashtags and stupid sayings like “We didn’t know we were making memories”, Like what the fuck does that even mean!. And no, I’m not saying to not take photos at all but, make sure that photos that you take add value to your life!.
“Live life, rather than store it.”
Recently I did something, originally this idea originated from John Fish. The idea is that to not to follow anyone or not everyone on social media, which may sound a bit absurd but hear me through it, if you are very badly addicted to social media just unfollow everyone because “It’s better to be bored and do nothing than scroll through your phone and develop an addiction”. And mostly whatever you see on this social networks 90% of them don’t add value to your life, Just ask yourself will I regret not watching the shit my friends post, for me the answer is nope never. I might follow just some close friends that’s it the rest No.
This might not sound good for everyone, but I personally think it’s a great way to reduce digital and social crap.
Delete all the crap that you have in your Storage devices, literally there is a lot of crap that you haven’t used in the past 3 months and you will never use it in the next 3 months so just delete it and have a clean storage device.
There is always that guy or girl who says “I have all the collection of movies and TV series” as if it’s an achievement, they just have it because to show the world that they have. “Hey people I’ve got all the crap in this world and I’m proud of it!”. It’s not a bad thing to have a good collection of stuff that you like, but it’s not good if you have a collection of shit which you don’t even like and watch it again. Just delete it and I promise you won’t regret.
It is so much better when you have less stuff on your device, you never get lost looking for stuff and looks so clean.
Unsubscribe from the newsletters that you don’t even check!.
Learn to be bored; the next time you have five or ten minutes free time, go for a walk, have a face-to-face conversation or just sit down and think instead of checking email or social media.
Binge Watching might sound cool but basically, all you are doing is wasting your time.
Be genuinely social on social media — instead of just mindlessly consuming people’s posts and also you shouldn’t post everything just because others do it. “Ohh it’s Friendship day today, I should post all my friends photos or else they won’t be my friends anymore” or “Ohh it’s chocolate day today, I have to post a photo of an expensive chocolate” Or “Oh it’s mothers day let me post a photo of my mom to show off that I care”. This is BS people, Call your friends, meet up, call your mom or give her a surprise, they will be much happier than you putting stupid post, learn to value experience.
Leave your mobile device in another room when you take a shower. Try to have a tech-free meal with a friend. Try meeting someone without knowing everything they’ve done in the last 24 hours. If you go out for a walk, you don’t have to photograph the tree: Just feel it, experience it, look at it. Try to factor in a few micro-moments that aren’t digital in your day and you may just find that the cumulative effects of those bring you more than it takes away. That’s what it’s about.
Your life isn’t gonna stop if you don’t use these services As someone who has never used these services, I can tell you: You don’t have to use them. Your life will still go on.
How will minimalism improve your life?
- Frees up more time and money to spend on experiences and with people.
- Forces one to invest more of their identity in their behavior and attitude and less in objects around them.
- Removes the stress of loss aversion and trying to hold on to what one already has.
- Saves money (always a stress reducer).
I asked few of my friends on what are their thoughts on minimalism and here’e what they said-
“Being a minimalist gives one pure freedom”. — Chirag.
“I think being minimalist helps in focusing on your passions, it gives freedom from fear and worries, I mean this generation people are very much material obsessed which distracts them to live the moment” — Rajat.
“Simplicity at it’s best” — Bharat Bahadur (Not me).
Learn more about how you can become a minimalist.
Check out “The Minimalist”.
Watch these movies and documentaries to understand it better.
Lastly I’m planning to make a video or a podcast kind of thing about this, if you have any thoughts let me know.
