Excessive consumerism
We have more things and possibilities than ever yet it seems that many of us still live an unfulfilled and unhappy life. But why is this? In essence, it comes down to our excessive consumeristic habits that we have and a lack of understanding of our selves.
The consumeristic lifestyle that so many have come to accept is a destructive ideology that distracts us from reflecting on whats truly important to us. We are so focused on working and buying things that we almost never take any time to discover our true values. We may have a vague idea of who we are and what our values are but most people rarely are able to precisely express their values. In the same way, social media is yet another form of consumerism that deprives us from our attention and distracts us from finding our personal meaning in life.
Excessive consumerism not only prevents us from finding our true selves but even if we did, we are still so addicted to the instant gratification from participating in the activity that we are willingly giving up our long term goals and our true selves in exchange for short moments of pleasure. This ultimately leads us to become entrapped in the vicious cycle of life style inflation where we exert maximum effort to improve our lives but then spend on things that we dont need and end up the same or in some cases less happy and fulfilled than at the beginning.
It is also an unhealthy habit that reduces our possibilities and freedoms as we deplete our limited personal resources be it money, time or energy on things that does not matter to us and leaves us at a vulnerable position on the rainy days. It is also the case that people develop new values and ambitions at different stages in life but many are unable to live up to their newly formed values as they have drained their personal resources to maintain a lifestyle that wasnt that important to them after all.
Minimalism
“Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favour of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfilment, and freedom.”
The definition by theminimalist.com is a concise one that can help us better understand what minimalism is about. It is not the objective but a means to an end. The purpose of the tool is to reduce unimportant excesses be it money, time or energy so that more of these resources can be deployed towards whats truly important to us. Furthermore, minimalism is also a philosophy that encourages saving resources so that we have a larger safety net for emergencies and options in the future.
At a personal level, experiencing new things is a crucial aspect in my life as view them as building blocks towards my identity. Each new expereince is a moment that contributes towards my personal life story and these stories are things that will trully belong to me in eternity. Physical and mental health it another value that has become increasingly important in my life. The difference in motivation, mood and happiness whilst being healthy and unhealthy is drastically noticeable and it is so important not to just live life, but to also have a life that is high quality.
To me, minimalism first and foremost is about having a purpose driven life and focusing my limited resources on my core values, namely expereinces, health and the pursuit of knowledge instead of spending it on temporary desires. Like every one else, I also have urges to buy things that I dont need and eat junk food that will negatively impact my health but I remind myself that these are short-term pleasures that will not improve my long-term and overall fulfilment. Some changes in spending habits that I have made after discovering minimalism include:
- Increase spending towards physical health. This includes the purchase of personal training classes and high quality food.
- Increase spending towards mental health. This includes the purchase of YouTube premium, a service that eliminates ads which helps reduced distractions
- Decrease spending on clothing. Focus on buying quality, multipurpose clothing and limiting the amount of clothing.
- Decrease spending on junk food and eating out.
Another essential part of minimalism is that the reduction of excesses will naturally generate a surplus of resources where I can use as a safety net for the future. I am still at a relatively early stage of my life and I am almost certain that my values will develop as I age. One of the biggest pities in life is to wonder this marvelous world and not being able to be your truest self. It is the case for so many where external factors to a great degree determine how they live their lives and have to succumb to the harsh realities of life and leave what they truly value aside. Not being able provide for your family due to a lack of financial resources or not being able to spend time on your hobbies due to a lack of energy and time are examples of why not having resources will prevent you from being your truest and best self.