If you're looking for the first step of becoming a minimalist, you've come to the right place.
As one of the extreme minimalists for many years, I would like to share with you the definition of a minimalist lifestyle.
There is no absolute answer or definition for this, so let's take a look at my definition of a minimalism lifestyle.
"Why?" is the keyword
Before start talking about the minimalism lifestyle, let's define the word "minimalist".
In my dictionary, a minimalist is a person who knows what they love, and what they do not love.
Also, in most cases, their belongings are only something that they love or that they have to have.
To start the minimalism lifestyle, you want to start by asking "why?" to yourself.
This can be applied to your job, your belongings, your human relationship, and so on.
In this article, I'm going to focus on the belongings so the question you ask yourself will be
- Why do I have this?
- Why do I have to have this?
- Why do I want to have this?
3 reasons to own things
There are three reasons that you can own your belongings if you want to be a minimalist and those are ...
- Because I love to have this.
- Because I have to have this for a job
- Because I have to have this for other reasons
If you ask these questions to yourself and if you can answer them, your lifestyle is pretty much minimalism.
Let's take a look at the reason why those 3 questions are important.
Because I love to have this.
Please refer to the article The best way to brew coffee while traveling: Aeropress for the reason why I hold this as a minimalist traveling blogger.
Having something you love is very important to focus on what you really should.
If you have a problem with your shopping habit, please refer to the article Minimalist Lifestyle Tips; Do not buy many cheap things but buy that lasts for a lifetime to improve your shopping habit or stop your unneccesary shopping.
Because I have to have this for my job.
The second reason you can have your belongings is that you need them for your job.
Different job means different required items to have.
I'm an independent blogger and web marketer, so what I have to have for my job will be something very different from the professional Italian chef.
Minimalism is not about giving up owning things that you need but is about focusing on what you really should have.
Job is a very important component of our life, so if you need to own a huge quantity of objects, don't worry; you are a minimalist if you know the reasons why you own your belonging.
Because I have to have this for other personal reasons.
The third reason you can have your belongings is that you have to have them for personal reasons.
Your coffee grinder may be something you are given by your grandparents even though you are not a big coffee lover.
In this type of case, the coffee grinder is a totem for you.
A minimalist lifestyle doesn't force you to give things up for no reason.
Again if you know a reason to own something, you're definitely a minimalist because your mindset towards owning the belongings is very simple.
Every person comes from different backgrounds and different circumstances, so being a minimalist is not about being judged by other people.
Once you know your rule about owning the belongings, you are already a minimalist and that is the minimalist lifestyle.
Surround yourself with something you love
To conclude this article, the most important thing for the first step of your minimalism lifestyle is to start asking yourself "why?".
If you cannot answer yourself, it means there's no concrete reason that you own that object.
I love the word "Less is More" because fewer (less) objects give you more perspectives because this word represents the core idea of a minimalist lifestyle.
A minimalist lifestyle is a lifestyle that you are surrounded by something you love.
Please do not forget to ask yourself 3 questions below all the time.
- Why do I have this?
- Why do I have to have this?
- Why do I want to have this?