Some inspiration to downsize and minimise your life
Completely downsizing your life from a house full of stuff that you don’t use to two backpacks is an incredibly scary experience, yet a completely freeing one at the same time. This is a decision that I made when I moved across the world to Asia and one that I haven’t regretted.
Downsizing your life and focusing on minimalism is a trend that has been spoken about often as these TED Talks will show. If you are feeling constrained by all the stuff in your life and are looking for a more minimalist life, then start with these TED Talks to get you inspired to take the plunge.
The videos are short, but if you don’t have the time, then there are some key points I have pulled out from each video.
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A Rich Life with Less Stuff
The Minimalists at TEDxWhitefish
Working harder to buy things that weren’t making me happy. My life lacked meaning, purpose, passion. I was living paycheck-to-paycheck. Living for a paycheck. Living for stuff. Living for a career that I didn’t love. But I wasn’t really living at all.So I decided to donate and sell all of it. And you know what, I started to feel rich for the first time. I started to feel rich once I got everything out of the way and made room for everything that remains. Are you working hard for a paycheck to buy stuff that you don’t need?
The ten-item wardrobe
Jennifer L. Scott at TEDxStGeorge
Liberate yourself with the ten-item wardrobe. One of the strange side effects of having too many clothes is we still have nothing to wear…We’re operating under the misconception that the more clothes we have, the easier it is to get ready in the morning. When actually the opposite is true. The less clothes you have, the less choice you have, the more thought and organization you put behind your wardrobe, the easier it is to get ready in the morning. We are more prone to impulse buying. Get over the stigma of wearing the same clothes over and over again.
Less Stuff, More Happiness
Graham Hill TED Talk
We have become such good shoppers that we need even more space. [Leads to] lots of credit card debt, huge environmental footprints and perhaps, not coincidently our happiness levels have flatlined. Less may actually equal more. First of all, you have to edit ruthlessly. We’ve got to clear the arteries of our lives. We need to think before we buy. Ask ourselves, “Is that really going to make me happier? Truly?”
Minimalism – For a more full life
Grant Blakeman at TEDxBoulder
So we live in this world full of abundant choice, and it’s really awesome. But that choice comes with a cost…we’re finding that consumers when faced with too much choice, are actually choosing not to choose. It’s just easier to not make a choice and have those choices be made for you. Less is more or rather less is better. Curating our lives actively, removing distractions. In your daily life what is your negative space?
Sell your crap. Pay your debt. Do what you love.
Adam Baker at TEDxAshville
What does freedom mean to you? It was the next item on the script that we were living our lives by. And it wasn’t a script that we chose, it was a script that chose us. We were the ones that were finally in control of our lives. You need to define what freedom looks like in your life. You need to take steps starting today to realize that. We start to identify ourselves with our physical things. More stuff and certainly more crap in your life isn’t going to grant you security, and it’s certainly not going to grant you happiness.
While watching these videos have you been answering the questions they have been asking? Are you working in a job you don’t love to buy more stuff you can’t afford and don’t need? Do you know what freedom means to you? Perhaps this is a sign that you need to start on the journey of downsizing.
Image credit: Bob; Flickr
