Minimalism: Embracing Conscious & Intentional Living

One night while looking through the endless options on Netflix and unable to pick a show, I found a documentary that caught my attention, it was titled “Minimalism”. I decided to watch it, and I was deeply captivated by the message it transmitted. What I learned from it became highly influential for me and applying the principles of minimalism profoundly changed my life. The documentary followed the story of two best friends – Josh and Ryan – who had successful corporate careers, earned hefty salaries, and had substantial material possessions. Both seemed to have been “living the dream”, yet internally they were rather unhappy and unfulfilled. By gaining awareness of the fact his life was crumbling in several areas despite having financial and material wealth, Josh discovered the practice of minimalism, he decided to completely embrace it and made a radical turnaround. Noticing such an improvement in Josh’s vitality, Ryan was intrigued and chose to also take on the challenge of adopting a minimalist lifestyle, experiencing significant changes as a result. I became fascinated by the idea of owning less, simplifying in all facets of one’s existence, living more intentionally and making space for what’s most important. Seeing it can all yield amazing transformation and bring about more joy and freedom, I fully delved into minimalism and within a few days I began my revolutionary journey toward greater self-fulfillment with less.

Consuming the content created by Josh and Ryan, who refer to themselves as The Minimalists, via their blog, podcast, books and documentaries, I gained increasing knowledge regarding minimalism. I progressively evolved my mindset and developed the courage to act in accordance with such an unconventional, but exceptionally liberating, way of living. Although the concept of minimalism is generally associated with owning less in terms of material possessions, it applies to various aspects including one’s finances, relationships, nutrition, training, mindset, social media use and more. Welcoming the perspective that getting rid of excess, thus reducing to the bare essentials, is conducive to an increased quality of life, enabled me to confront a cruel reality. I saw none of the material success I had been chasing, none of the societal expectations I had been seeking to meet, and none of the self-worth I had been trying to get from pleasing others, were leading me to true purpose and meaning. I recognized many of the important decisions I had made were from an unconscious state and predetermined based on societal standards. I kept blindly following the “traditional” path without once stopping to ask myself whether I genuinely wanted to head in such direction. My mind was so cluttered with senseless stimuli from the external world, which drives people delusional by selling and advertising happiness in the form of accumulation and the constant search for more, bigger and better.

In the summer of 2019, I came back from a trip to Las Vegas with two friends and seeing the amount of money I spent in only five days was quite painful; especially because I was in over $60,000 worth of debt, and until then I had only been making minimum monthly payments on it. I couldn’t have stumbled upon minimalism at a more opportune time, as my financial situation called for immediate attention. I could not continue to ignore it, and even though it was uncomfortable and difficult to reduce my lifestyle, it was a crucial steppingstone to paying off the debt I was in. Therefore, I began by acknowledging my spending behavior, evaluating exactly where my money was going, and taking inventory of my material belongings, in turn gaining a concrete high-level view of my starting point. Such a process was a worthwhile exercise of self-compassion. It taught me that as harsh as it was to face the poor decisions I had made with money, I had to accept, forgive and encourage myself instead of being judgmental. This enabled me to then discern between the essential things that indeed brought value to my life and the insignificant items I could let go of. Consequently, I acted with a sense of urgency by cancelling monthly subscriptions to streaming services; terminating my gym membership; avoiding going to bars and restaurants; as well as jettisoning accessories, jewelry, clothing and footwear via donating and selling if possible. The act of eliminating as much as I could right off the bat, regardless of magnitude, not only helped me save money, but also lightened the heavy emotional load I felt, cleared my mind, inspired me to continue seeking simplicity in more aspects of my existence, and showed me the light at the end of the tunnel. Above all, I started reaping the rewards of living intentionally and making deliberate decisions; I kept building confidence, increasing self-esteem and transmuting as a result.

Realizing the huge impact simplifying had on my finances, I was curious to find out other parts of my life I could enhance by downsizing and decluttering. The sacrifices I had made in the effort to settle my debt and head to financial freedom, surprisingly started to have a positive carryover effect on my relationships, my mindset, my nutrition, my training, as well as my behavior around consumerism, social media and other areas.

Because I committed to stick to a strict budget and work a supplementary job, I knew I would temporarily neglect my social engagements and some of my relationships would consequently suffer. I had always tried to please everyone in my peer group as much as I could; the fear I had of disappointing others, especially my closest friends, made it quite difficult for me to refuse any opportunity I had to meet up with them. I felt a tremendous need to belong to a group, I sought to develop as many connections as possible, and I clung to bonds I had established in the past. In other words, I thought the more friendships I formed and was able to maintain, the better I would feel about myself. This mindset was severely tested when I hyper concentrated on my debt-free journey and I inherently became isolated, as my lack of time and energy prevented me from participating in social encounters. At first it was extremely hard to decline invitations from friends and family, and in time, I no longer received any invitations. This put me in a position where I had to learn to prioritize myself, nurture my own aspirations, and accept that my self-worth is not dependent on the amount of people I surround myself with. By purposely choosing what matters most to me, rather than placing others’ expectations first, I slowly gained self-esteem and kept progressing steadily toward my goals. Minimalism enabled me to gradually let go of the people I felt compelled to keep in contact with, embrace solitude, grow in the assurance that I am enough, and be content with fewer but more meaningful relationships. I became receptive to the notion that friendships don’t necessarily have to be an everlasting commitment, that people in one’s life come and go, and as much as it’s essential to foster true connections with others, it’s also important to exercise detachment in due seasons, as one’s inability to do so can become overwhelming and add unnecessary stress. Moreover, this understanding allowed me to be more mindful in my immediate daily interactions with those closest to me, such as my family members and co-workers, and cultivate greater appreciation for them.

Progressively becoming accustomed to owning less, facilitated me to arrive at this profound awakening: having a scarcity mindset was a central force behind most of the discontent I experienced. Giving into unconsidered desires and finding ways to justify purchases I didn’t have to make was symptomatic of constantly feeling I didn’t have enough. Conversely, as I kept experimenting with minimalism, I nurtured an abundance mindset and began to see that having fewer possessions was totally sufficient. In addition to stimulating a higher sense of gratitude in me, this also gave me an intensified state of internal peace. All that I owned served a purpose and as soon as I perceived something as excess, I gave myself permission to get rid of it. Furthermore, concerning the area of nutrition, simplifying helped me to focus on consuming just whole (real) foods to a point of satiety, as an alternative to following complicated diets and frequently looking to add unnecessary foods or supplements. Through extensive experimentation with different approaches to eating, I realized that keeping it simple is most sustainable and nourishing. Regularly having the same types of holistic food may seem “boring”, but I find it rather enjoyable. Not only does this allow me to feel satisfied after every meal, but it also enables me to maintain a balanced body weight and feel healthy, it removes the guesswork from preparing meals, it eliminates reliance on takeout food, and significantly reduces the stress and anxiety associated with figuring out what and how much to eat.

Deciding to end my gym membership was tough for me, but the perspective of minimalism encouraged me to move forward with it. In doing so, I was able to see that staying active and developing physical fitness are perfectly achievable without any fancy gym equipment. Although there is immense added value in having access to a gym, the most important part is to simply move the body consistently; and this can be done by going outside and walking, running, playing sports, doing bodyweight movements – calisthenics, yoga, stretch and mobility, etc. Exercising doesn’t have to be complex and overwhelming. The point is not to perpetually get faster, bigger and stronger, but to maintain a healthy level of overall fitness. Instead of regretting missing out on the benefits of going to a fitness center, I saw that freeing myself from it was an opportunity to adapt to new forms of exercise and be creative; consequently, playing soccer, running, doing bodyweight workouts, as well as developing a stretch and mobility practice became staples in my daily training. After a while, making a deliberate choice to invest in a pair of adjustable dumbbells, a bench and a pull-up bar served me to enhance my movement routine by incorporating weightlifting and calisthenics. Similarly, basing my purchase decisions on whether an item would add value or not is the approach I started implementing to address my consumerist behavior. Rather than giving into transient dopamine hits buying things I didn’t really need, I employed caution and controlled my impulses. This helped me to increase my awareness of the way I managed my resources – making investments in myself and others, in place of wasting them on short-term pleasures. Consistently applying this level of intentionality, embracing simplicity and avoiding the unnecessary burden that comes along with possessions and expectations was massively impactful. It created opportunities, gave me freedom to live on my own terms and take more risks, and enabled me to focus on living experiences that brought me joy and fulfillment.

Adopting minimalism was fundamental in getting my finances in order, for it led me to dramatically improve my money-handling habits. Likewise, further embracing it inspired me to assess whether I spent my time and attention wisely or not. In this process I became conscious of the considerable amount of mental energy I was depleting on social media. Constantly engaging in a virtual world, concerned with the way others were portraying their lives, and often seeking validation from others, basically drained me and stole my ability to be present and involved in my immediate environment. After giving it much thought and recognizing they were nothing but a distraction for me, on January of 2023, I deleted my Facebook and Instagram accounts and never looked back. It was a tremendously freeing decision that allowed me to regain focus and empowered me to direct it more constructively. Besides, it reinforced in me the thought that having the courage to move toward change despite resistance and fear is an attribute everyone possesses, but it cannot be put into action until one becomes aware of it.

Assimilating the non-traditional nature of a minimalist lifestyle was deeply confronting, and it has been a continuous learning experience. It has renewed my perspective, augmented my well-being, and guided me to comprehend that my self-worth does not depend on what I own or how the external world perceives me. I am unique with my gifts and talents, I am abundant, and my fulfillment and self-realization are not derived from any sort of identity I may create around materialism. Lastly, embodying the theory of minimalism facilitates decluttering the mind, body and spirit to obtain a clearer vision of what matters most. Through eliminating excess and reducing distractions, one can more effectively allocate the most valuable and non-renewable resources of time and attention to truly important factors such as relationships, health, experiences, passions and personal growth.