Why I’m Choosing To Become A Minimalist

I can’t believe that I’m becoming a minimalist.

For as long as I can remember, one of my dreams was to become extremely wealthy and to own as many luxury items as I possibly could.

I worked for this throughout my twenties, but the more I bought, the less happy I felt. Things I only dreamt about owning brought me happiness for a few minutes or hours before I was back to normal.

The price tag kept increasing, but the extent and duration of happiness kept decreasing.

Chasing after more materialism chipped away at my mind, body, and spirit.

When I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that flared my joints and fatigued me all the time, my life changed.

All the stuff I thought I wanted didn’t matter anymore.

What I yearned for was freedom, good health, and great experiences based on what fuels me as a person.

I learned that simplicity does more for my soul and mental wellbeing than anything else.

What’s ironic is the paradox of duality.

Even though I chased after a luxurious lifestyle, I recall sitting in history class as a teenager daydreaming about owning a big stretch of land with my own house where I could grow my own food, exercise in nature, care for animals, and spend time with my family.

That’s a simple way of living that aligns with minimalism, and that gave birth to my decision to become a minimalist.

I’m not an expert on the topic, so I won’t even try to preach about it. But I’ve spent a lot of time studying, experimenting, and experiencing minimalism every chance I get.

Here are my reasons for choosing minimalism in my home and my life.

Reasons Why I Like Minimalism

1. It simplifies life and reduces stress

Stress has destroyed my body. I don’t say that lightly, but it’s true. I’m freshly into my 30s, but my health has suffered tremendously due to stress.

When you witness your quality of life slip through your fingers in real time, it’s a shock to the system.

Suddenly, that new car or that new iPhone don’t seem all that impressive anymore. Being able to walk pain-free is far more meaningful when your health and body are deteriorating.

I don’t think that I’m willing to sacrifice my mental and physical health for material items that constantly lose value and do nothing but stress me out.

I’d much rather focus on living well with what I have than stress myself out to obtain items that do nothing but be a status symbol.

2. It makes me feel in control of my surroundings

As an aspiring author, I’ve toyed with the idea of working in chaos to create art, but it doesn’t work for me.

I feel claustrophobic, dirty, and stuck in an environment that is too busy and cluttered.

My desk used to be a haven for all sorts of gadgets, notebooks, and skincare items. To this day, I have a wired keyboard, mouse, and headphones. It’s ridiculous that I tried to work in this space when it obviously distracts and frustrates me.

Having less and freeing up space excites me. I want to feel free in my environment so that I can relax and think creatively.

Clean and simple environments soothe me, and when I’m calm, I come up with amazing ideas that I’m excited to share with the world.

3. It provides a mindset shift

For a long time, I was under the misguided impression that minimalism was about decluttering your environment from material items.

As I dug deeper into it, I’ve begun to understand that minimalism is a mindset shift.

By adopting a cleaner and simpler attitude and thought process in life, you have a greater chance of finding peace, joy, focus, and fulfilment in your day-to-day life.

That’s something I’ve yearned for.

I’ve spent so much time stressing about the future and being upset about the past that I never really enjoyed the present moment.

I couldn’t accomplish much without wrecking my mind and body. Worst of all, my perspective on life made everything more complex and complicated.

Minimalism offers a simple lifestyle.

To live well, I only need to do good work, be physically fit, be around good people, and be productive.

That’s all I truly need to be content.

Stripping away all the unnecessary pursuits and expectations may provide me with more energy, clarity, and focus for what actually matters.

4. It’s the most effective way to grow

One of the best compliments I’ve received from most people who talk to me is that I always seem enthusiastic to talk about them.

I see it in their eyes. They’re excited to talk, and they appreciate the fact that someone genuinely wants to know about them.

The one question that brings out this reaction from people is this: “What’s your routine like?”

I absolutely love to learn about people’s day-to-day routines. I want to know how they live so that I can extract some wisdom for my own routine.

So when I speak to people who have accomplished great feats, it’s always shocking to learn how simple it is.

There’s no magic pill, nor is there an elaborate protocol that works.

If anything, it’s simple and predictable steps taken over an extended period of time.

These people fall in love with the mundane.

I’ve tried elaborate and complex routines for years, and nothing really special has happened. The only times I’ve really achieved something amazing was when I did a simple action repeatedly and ferociously.

Two years ago, I weighed 86 kg (190 lbs).

Don’t ask me how or why I put on so much weight, but I’m not a muscular guy, so most of that weight was fat.

I wanted to feel healthier, but I also wanted to lose weight.

So, I got rid of unnecessary recipes from my diet plan and simplified my approach to exercise. Instead, I found a simple diet of whole foods to fuel my body. I also incorporated 5000 to 8000 steps per day into my exercise routine.

That’s it.

I didn’t go to the gym, I didn’t fast, I didn’t eat super low calories, and I didn’t get any supplements.

I lost 16 kg (35 lbs) using this approach and kept it off until today.

A super minimalistic approach to weight loss gave me sustainable and satisfactory results.

This is probably one of the main reasons why I have become a minimalist.

5. It helps with time-management and productivity

The more things you have, the more work is required to clean and maintain them.

Even in a small house like mine, you’d be shocked at how much time goes into keeping it clean and organized due to the sheer volume of things we have.

When it comes to my bedroom or lounge area, I want it to be low-maintenance.

Spending large amounts of time to organize and clean isn’t a priority for me right now, but I need my space to be pristine.

I can only do this with minimalistic decor.

Whatever little energy I have, I want to spend it doing the things I love.

That’s my philosophy in life for the foreseeable future.

Related article: How I make my bedroom smell good

I’m really excited to embark on this journey. For those of you who are interested in my goals, I plan to use minimalism to become a published author, to write hundreds of articles for this blog, and to get into the best shape of my life. I’ll keep you updated on the journey along the way, and I’m excited that I get to share what I learn from this.

If you’d like to learn more about minimalism, I recommend checking out the OG in the space: The Minimalists