In biblical times, giving up all of your possessions meant you were devoting your life to God and living in the wilderness. Now, it’s cool.
Buy only what you need and discard everything you don’t. That’s the basis for living as a minimalist. It’s based on the idea that our lives are filled with endless clutter – physically, mentally, and spiritually.
A typical minimalist living arrangement includes small wardrobes, naked walls, and a lot of empty space. But contrary to popular belief, minimalism is not simply defined as living with fewer possessions. It’s about living with freedom, simplicity, meaning.
When it comes to living with mental clarity and peace of mind, less can certainly mean more. In this article, I want to discuss the six core benefits of living a minimalist lifestyle.
1) Less Stress
It’s amazing how much more room you have to think when you rid your life of things that you don’t need. Yet it’s against human nature to discard things that we own… Why is that?
This is called the endowment effect: we value ownership more than market value (1).
This problem typically occurs in investing. It’s much harder to sell a stock than to buy because of the potential gain that may occur once it is sold. And of course, once the stock begins to lower, the expectations rise even more, creating a self-defeating prophecy. It’s extremely stressful and can take a major toll on your mental health.
But the endowment effect does not only apply to investing, it applies to anything that we purchase. Think of your clothes, books, shoes, or even your house. Even if someone paid you the exact market value for these items, how easy would it be for you to sell them?
Minimalism goes against this principle. A conscious decision must be made against everything you own, asking: do I really need this? You may come to realize that 50-80% of the things you own are rarely, if ever, used.
Ridding yourself of things that you do not need creates more space in your life for positive energy to flourish. This is not just in your head – cluttered homes statistically lead to more procrastination and increased levels of cortisol (2, 3).
2) Save Money
This one is fairly obvious. When you spend less money on small stuff, you have much more room for the bigger stuff.
Forget the warehouse sales, the boxing day specials, or Black Friday mayhem – these are marketing tactics that give the illusion that you are saving money.
In fact shoppers this year spent a collective $69 Billion during Black Friday weekend, which is more money spent on a weekend than the GDP of 81 countries (4, 5). On sale or not, that’s a lot of money.
3) Better Intentions
Minimalist buying reinforces the notion that your life is meaningful. It’s not just about saving money, it’s about freeing up your life only with things or people that truly matter.
Living as a minimalist means living with intention, which is inherently positive. Learning how to direct your intentions with reality will help you manifest your goals and dreams.
“We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like” – Unknown
It’s hard to let go. But it’s even more stressful not to. When you have fewer things to lose, whether it is possessions or people, you can attack life with vigor and confidence.
4) More Time
A lifestyle that is revolved around meaning and intention will save you ample time in every respect of life.
In social life, minimalism means staying in solitude once in a while. You do not need to go to every event, party, or gathering just because your friends are there. If they are really your friends, they will respect your decision to stay in when you need to.
It can also mean outsourcing your work to people who are better suited to do it. Tim Ferris talks about this concept a lot in his book “The Four Hour Work Week”, where he delegates anything from personal emails, to business, to a personal chef that saves him time for the tasks that only he can do.
While it’s not necessary to take it to this extreme, life is much more enjoyable when you can rely on others to help out. If hiring someone to mow your lawn costs $20/hour and your time is worth $40/hour, then it’s something to consider.
In relationships, it can mean letting go of people who are toxic. Not everyone who comes into your life will lift you up or treat you well. These are often the same people who will rob you of energy that could be directed toward other people who appreciate you more.
5) Focus From Consumption To Experience
A study from San Francisco State University found that those who spent money on experiences rather than possessions were happier and felt their money was better spent (6).
When money is focused towards consumption, it tends to have the opposite effect that we desire. Though it may stimulate short-term happiness, it also reinforces the void that happiness can be purchased.
That’s not to say you should live like a hermit in a cereal box. Rather, instead of purchasing things for the sake of consuming, purchase them for the sake of learning, experiencing, or fulfilling your deepest needs. This leads to long-term happiness and a better quality of life.
6) Environmentally Friendly
The objective of minimalism is to live life with meaning, whereby every decision is well thought out and intentioned. It just so happens that such a lifestyle is great for the environment.
Giving away possessions you no longer need, while consuming only what you do need, reduces waste significantly.
It’s also worth mentioning that the effect of living environmentally friendly is both internally and externally positive. The care you show to the outside world is a reflection of how you feel inside.