5 ways to embrace minimalism on National Simplicity Day

“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler,” said Henry David Thoreau, an American author, environmentalist and poet, whose birth anniversary is marked as National Simplicity Day on July 12.  A simpler life, which has a minimalistic approach with regard to tangibles as well as a simple thinking, devoid of complexities, can lead to less clutter of space and mind, bringing in some much needed calm. Henry David Thoreau never advocated quitting to move to the basics, but did advise not to compare, acquire and accumulate more in the process.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication,” Leonardo da Vinci, the legendary Italian artist put the idea forth, perhaps most appropriately. Using less or minimalism has been talked about for a long time but it holds more significance now as the race to acquire, exhibit and process is growing exponentially. It inevitably leads to cluttering of space, obstruction of mind, and results in poor clarity of thought. This impacts one’s performance and functioning while mounting stress and challenging one’s wellbeing.

In most of our childhoods, we are taught to only keep the essentials, not clutter or hoard in order to learn the important skill of maintaining cleanliness. But while growing up, in a bid to fulfil all our aspirations, we somewhere lose that trait and start accumulating more as a mark of success. The race continues to drain us of that pure joy of living. We remain occupied and stress about how to accumulate more, just like the next successful person.

Simplicity on the other hand, is reflected in how we conduct our daily lives, how much value we attach to our possessions and how we approach all matters. Having fewer but necessary things and a thinking where we do not compare ourselves with others in terms of what we possess, lays the foundation of minimalistic living. It keeps us stress free, lets us focus on the present, helps in our growth and learning in the most constructive manner.

Soulveda suggests ways to embrace such minimalism and enrich our life and thinking.

Focus on what is actually needed

If you sit back and take stock of the things you possess, you might get surprised to see many things lying unused or sparingly used while you continue to buy new ones. Further, you spend extra time to organize and declutter.

Our wardrobes often overflow with stuff and sometimes, there arises a need for new ones to accommodate the growing possessions. It is obvious that anything new brings freshness adding zing and zeal. But at the same time, the urge to acquire more, disproportionate to our requirements, starts generating stress. We crave for more and buying more, starting to put pressure on our resources. We start to stretch, which leads to stress and a general sense of anxiety.

With a minimalistic mindset, we feel contented with what we have. Not just to make our own life easy and stress-free, we contribute in keeping our environment happy as well. Instead of unnecessary buying, we learn to repurpose and put less load on the battered and already dwindling eco-balance.

Stop comparing and accumulating

Imagine the calm when you start to focus on your own uniqueness and the resulting achievements. Once we realise that everyone’s journey is unique, it lifts tremendous pressure off your chest. As this realisation sets in, instead of comparing and amassing things like others, we learn to keep and use things which we require.

In contrast, when we observe others and their possessions, it becomes a dangerous thing to crave and acquire things, not paying heed to our need or feasibility.

We often find different people in a group – one who is into entrepreneurship may have a different lifestyle whereas an artist friend might have a different set of possessions. Instead of comparing and developing an urge to possess things like them, keeping a rational approach with regard to what actually suits us and our requirement, makes life much easier.

Take stock of your time

Not just what and how much you buy, where you invest your time is equally important to maintain a productive and stress-free life. Increased connectivity and a huge social media presence often drains you of focus and valuable time. This leads to a loss of productivity, emanating stress and unnecessary intrusion and even conflicts due to non-syncing energies. With a minimalist approach, you start to prioritise relationships which fulfil rather than the ones that drain.

In your journey to being a minimalist, you might have to learn to say no to certain commitments that do not align with your values in life. It’s a remarkable feat when you learn to consciously choose what you want and focus on how your time is spent. It’s a step forward towards happiness and self-compassion in the long run.

Focus on eternals

While gratification through material possessions can not be eliminated a hundred percent, the fact remains that such stuff perish, fade or simply become redundant. What remains eternally relevant for us is love, purpose, compassion and joy. A minimalistic approach works here as it helps carry forward basic and essential values rather than materialistic possessions.

Humans without intrinsic values can not sustain in the long run. Too much emphasis on what you have or what you want to acquire, distracts one from basic values like standing for each other or sharing joys as well as sorrows.

Align your thinking

As we focuss on acquiring things, our thinking patterns become complicated too. We tend to over-analyse and assume, and that itself complicates matters. If we keep our thinking simple and judge less, it enriches our lives to a great extent.

This does not imply that we execute without thinking but we need to rest our brains and focus more on working and accepting situations as they are.

Minimalism can be a conscious choice in the beginning. And once you start to see the results in the form of happiness and more space to fulfil your pursuits, life becomes more meaningful.