“The life we receive is not short but we make it so. We are not ill provided but use what we have wastefully.” ―Seneca
My life looks very different today than it did six years ago. Minimalism was the catalyst. It brought intentionality to my surroundings and my pursuits. And I recommend it to everyone.
But deciding to own less brought more changes to my life than cleaner drawers and closets. It also prompted a new lifestyle that questioned the presence of certain assumptions. As a result, it introduced me to a better way to live centered on more essential pursuits.
Looking back now, I have the benefit of comparison.
I loved watching television. I played hours of video games. I rarely exercised. I drank lots of soda. I ate too much fast food. I slept in late whenever possible. I did all the things I thought I wanted to do.
I was living the dream, or so I thought. But I am beginning to notice how my previous way of life was not improving my life—it was actually detracting from it. The life I was living wasn’t even close to the best one possible. Worse than that, in many ways, it was keeping me from it.
I think this is what makes the unexamined life so dangerous. We often think we are living life to the fullest, but we aren’t. Often times, we are exchanging long-term purpose for short-term pleasure.
When we eat unhealthy, we miss opportunity to fuel our bodies properly.
When we watch too much TV, we miss opportunities to interact with people in the real world.
When we buy more than we need, we miss opportunity to live free and unburdened.
When we neglect to exercise, we miss opportunity to enjoy adventures available to those with physical stamina.
When we stay up late and sleep through the morning, we miss capitalizing on the most productive period of our day.
When we focus too much on vacations or entertainment, we miss opportunity to discover the joys sitting in front of us each day.
When we spend more than we earn, we burden ourselves with the bondage of debt.
When we spend too much money on ourselves, we miss opportunity to find greater joy by being generous to others.
When we choose leisure over work, we miss opportunity to contribute and benefit society with our skills.
When we work too much, we miss opportunity to refuel, recenter, and rest.
Again, with each of the decisions above, we think we are enjoying our lives and living them to the fullest. I sure thought I was enjoying my previous lifestyle. But in reality, we are only trading a better life for a more available, easier accessible one.
So how do we objectively evaluate our lives? How do we gauge if we are sacrificing the important for the urgent? How do we recognize if our choices are detracting from our lifestyle?
Here are 5 steps that have been helpful for me:
1. Embrace humility. We admit that we don’t have all the answers and open our hearts to hearing truth.
2. Seek input. We seek family members, friends, and mentors—people who know us and love us. And we humbly invite them to speak boldly into our lives.
3. Look for the root. We ask ourselves questions—hard questions. Why do we make the decisions we make and live the life we live? Is it because our habits contribute to our best life possible? Or are there others reason present in our thought-process?
4. Experiment. Try living differently for a month, see if it changes your outlook on life. Give up television, sugar, or alcohol. Exercise, write, or leave work at 5 every day for a month. Notice how it impacts your overall well-being. 30 days will provide enough time to see if the change is worthwhile.
5. Learn from others. Successful people are curious people. They possess the humility to learn from others. Identify people living their lives with purpose and goals. Then, study and learn from them.
We all want to live our life to the fullest—to enjoy and accomplish all that we can with all that we have. Let’s work hard to make sure we are making the best decisions with it.
Oliver says
“I think this is what makes the unexamined life so dangerous. We often think we are living life to the fullest, but we aren’t. Often times, we are exchanging long-term purpose for short-term pleasure.” [or] “But in reality, we are only trading a better life for a more available, easier accessible one.”
This pretty much nails it!! Absolutely mind-blowing post Josh! We probably “miss out” all the time, one way or another. We may need to make compromises every now and then, but we should only allow our discontent to be temporary. Bottom line: Daring to be happy…
Matthew Anderson says
I love this:
“4. Experiment. Try living differently for a month, see if it changes your outlook on life. Give up television, sugar, or alcohol. Exercise, write, or leave work at 5 every day for a month. Notice how it impacts your overall well-being. 30 days will provide enough time to see if the change is worthwhile.”
I’m loving the experiments I put myself through. It makes life so enjoyable to wake up every day knowing you’re going to learn something about yourself.
everlearning says
Fabulous post! Thank you!
I am so glad that you are expanding your posts on minimalism to more than just about stuff. That’s huge, but so is minimalism as it pertains to the rest of life.
“But deciding to own less brought more changes to my life than cleaner drawers and closets. It also prompted a new lifestyle that questioned the presence of certain assumptions. As a result, it introduced me to a better way to live centered on more essential pursuits.”
I truly believe that one without the other is useless. Thanks again for the encouragement!
Becky H says
So true about staying up late! I made myself get up earlier again today, desperately trying to reset my internal clock. I have evolved into a 1:30ish bedtime that is stealing my life and leaving me tired and less productive. Such a good point.
Kent Julian says
Outstanding post!
I knew the old-style Joshua. Great guy. Lots of talent. Fun to be around. Not a bad guy at all.
But the new-style Joshua is all those things and more. More depth. More insight. More focused on what matters most.
Proud to call you a friend and fun to see the growth!
(Was with Phil Human this past week and he said Kim and you did an outstanding job at his church.)
joshua becker says
Phil was a wonderfully gracious host. Now, after speaking at Joe’s church years ago, I just need you to find me a platform in Atlanta—that would complete the trifecta.
Tamara says
It has been slightly over a year since I / we began to live more minimal. Your blog (and book) has been a factor, as well as watching those hoarder programs! Honestly, every time I watched one I felt like I couldn’t breathe! Then I would begin to purge the excess from my home.
We down sized our home from 1400 sq. ft. to an apartment of 700 sq. ft. That was challenging! Yet we survived and learned to live with less. We moved again into a purchased townhouse. It is a bit larger than the apartment, but not to much so that I want to fill it to the brim with things. Becoming intentionally minimalist is challenging at times, but I don’t believe I would have it any other way. We recently canceled our cable TV. We are using an antenna. It is a small step but one that has eliminated a cable charge / bill.
I find so much information, encouragement and help from your posts. Thank you.
Laurie Crews says
I was encouraged by the fact that you are still moving toward your goals six years later. Minimalism isn’t just about the house and it’s not a quick fix. It’s a journey toward a better life and I appreciate every bit of your wisdom along the way. Thank you, very well done.
Kiri says
I’m new to your blogs and I’m enjoy how you language things. Today’s fave from “seek input” ….. And we humbly invite them to speak boldly into our lives….. Beautiful, and takes courage and the strength found in being vulnerable. Love the opening quote too. Great post. Thank you.
Brian Gardner says
“1. Embrace humility.”
I don’t care how much I try to do this, I fall short each and every time. There are so many factors at play, and although my intentions are good, I am continually tempted by numbers and notoriety.
Just because life is hard, however, isn’t an excuse to give in to pride. So I wake up every day and try my best. That’s all I can do, right?
“If you want to be the greatest, you must become the least.” ~ some dude who wore sandals
Reece Precious says
In order to reach true humility every day do a generous act or helped someone but do it anonymously and don’t tell anyone not even your partner. In these acts, acts without profit, financial or spiritual, acknowledgement or smugness you can achieve gradually learn true humility.
BrownVagabonder says
I love the point you made about ‘Look for the root’. There are so many decisions we make daily without even thinking about the reason for them. A lot of them have to be automatic, otherwise, we would be exhausted by the amount of decisions we would have to think about. But some of them really deserve more than a second or two of our brain time. Like why do I keep on buying more stuff when I have so much already? Like why do I sabotage my jobs by not staying in them for more than 2 years? Like why I don’t believe in myself?
Looking for alternative ways of doing the same thing if possible is the key. Maybe it will change around our day, or even our lives, depending on how big the change is. Thanks for the post!