Note: This is a guest post from Eric Ungs of Unless You Care Project.
“Being a minimalist means that you value yourself more than material things.” —Brian Gardner
We often think of minimalism as shedding away our external possessions and living with only the essentials. Certainly, this is very much part of it.
But I am learning the journey is not just external, it is also internal. To experience true abundance from minimalism, it must start within.
Just as some people accumulate things to create a false identity or pursue a mythical state of happiness, eliminating yourself of possessions without coming from a place of inward truth is short-sighted. They are disconnected.
Living an abundant life derives from traveling a journey of intentional self growth. It’s functioning through your true self to live a simple life. It’s getting good at being simple. Self simplicity becomes the clarity in which you find meaning. It’s the removal of the unnecessary. It’s the discovery of what you value most.
Self simplicity is the intersection of self-care and minimalism.
As you begin to focus on your inner self, minimalism becomes the by-product. (tweet that)
Here are 5 simple ways to live an abundant life through self simplicity.
1. Simplify your wardrobe.
Two years ago, I adopted a minimalist wardrobe. A solid colored t-shirt, jeans and a pair of Vans sums up my daily wardrobe year round. It’s the attire that I feel most like myself in. Because of this minimalist approach, I am able to eliminate unnecessary energy that gets put into what I wear. It spares me a few more minutes in the morning to sit at the table with my family for breakfast before we all head out the door. It results in one less source of stress and anxiety within my day.
2. Eliminate digital distractions.
As our mobile device is the bridge that connects us to the world, it’s also the very thing that pulls us from living in the moment. For the past couple years, I’ve removed all notifications on my phone. It no longer is a constant distraction that pulls me from the present moment.
One Saturday evening while my wife and son were gone, I had a sudden impulse to remove the TV from our main floor family room—the room where we spend most of our time. Since then, our family has become much closer and our focus is no longer fragmented. We play more, we have spontaneous dance parties, we listen to music and sing together, we grab our own books and read, and we have quiet time together.
I even began noticing glances at my watch would allow different levels of anxiety to creep in. My ego would spew off all the things I should be doing instead of what I was doing at that moment. So I no longer wear a watch. It’s eliminated a feeding source for my ego. And the anxiety that would creep in from wearing a watch has since subsided.
3. Focus on your art, not your job.
Most people dislike getting up in the morning because of the job they have. The unfortunate reality is we spend a third of our lives in the workplace. So why do we drudge through it working for the weekend?
Changing your mindset in how you approach your job opens up life’s abundance. It no longer becomes a balancing act of work and life, but becomes life itself.
Remove yourself from the cog-like behaviors and pour your unique abilities into all that you do. It makes getting up in the morning a lot easier. This shift in mindset has transformed how I work.
Previously, my daily goal was working towards a promotion, a more prestigious title, and a larger paycheck. That’s it. Since practicing self-care, office politics has become less attractive, the race up the corporate ladder no longer serves a purpose, and the prestigious titles are now just words.
Focus on the difference you can make by the work only you can do. New meaning will immediately arise.
4. Learn to say no to things.
I used to feel like I had to say yes to everything thinking that’s what the path to success looked like. Often times these commitments and obligations I agreed to caused unnecessary stress and friction within my relationships: family, friends, colleagues.
The ability to say no provides space in my life to focus on the things I value most. It’s not about being involved with everything, but rather involving myself with the right things.
5. Embrace the mundane.
It wasn’t until I committed to traveling a journey of intentional self growth that I discovered where life is really lived—in the mundane. Life is lived in those in-between moments we often hurry past. It’s in the car rides to daycare, standing in the grocery line with your son, reading to your kids before bed time, or clearing off the dinner table as a family.
It’s all the things that are part of our days that we tend to gloss over. But these are the simple memories that last a lifetime. These are the experiences that write our story and shape our lives. It’s those simple things that matter and become the things we appreciate most.
I didn’t set out to become a minimalist. It was born through self-care and committing to travel a journey of intentional self growth.
But through self simplicity, abundance was found.
Further Reading
How to Enjoy a Life You Don’t Need to Escape From
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Eric Ungs writes at Unless You Care Project where he helps others lead a life of intentional self growth.
Sharon says
If it where not for this mini iPad at 5:30 am, I would not have read this entire post and its replies, I’m just sayin’. When it’s really quit and I begin my day I have taken a few moments to be fully engaged in the moment and in the mondane. I love this minimalist post. Thanks for sharing.
michelle says
I like your idea of not wearing a watch. My job requires me to always keep track of time so a watch is much needed, but I think I’ll leave my watch in the office at the end of the day.
Great article. Thank you for writing!
xo, michelle @ dritgirl.com
Jason - KAC says
Hi Joshua and Eric.
This is an excellent reminder of how much focusing on self, or the little things, can lead to big outcomes in the quality of your life.
Point 2 – Eliminating digital distractions – is a huge takeaway that I too advocate. I believe that an overload of information is a real problem in society, especially for the younger generation. It’s becoming prevalent that in-person social skills are becoming a dying art, one which I feel is most important for the future harmony of our race.
Social interaction aside, information from news and the media is strongly influencing the young (and older) minds of the current generations. Our understanding of concepts such as integrity, honesty, community and love are becoming skewed, which I’m sure is hampering attempts at global peace and an overall realisation of what matters most.
How can you remain positive when constantly bombarded by the (mostly) negative news cast by the media? It breeds cynicism, hatred, mistrust, and skepticism and unhappiness, amongst other things. Or it did with me at least.
I wonder if, aside from removing a television, have you tried a Low Information Diet? Essentially, removing any form of media, news, or ‘brainwashing’ material from your life in the first person, constitutes a LID. I’ve been practicing this for over 3 years now and I find I miss out on nothing important, yet my mind is free of the clutter, violence, mindless facts and useless information that the majority of media publish every day.
If I do want to know the current affairs of the day, I simply ask someone else. They’ve made the effort to research it for me! Sure, if it’s relevant to me then I investigate further (to avoid hearsay), but this approach has significantly minimalised the information I am consuming every day.
Just to clarify, the elimination process includes newspaper, television, radio news, blogs etc. Anything that is irrelevant to my daily journey and attempts to become better and inspire others to live their cause. Everything becomes easier. My meditation isn’t interrupted as much, my days don’t revolve around a 6pm news sitting, and I’m altogether a much happier person NOT knowing who’s cat got stuck up a tree in Germany…
Eric, your concept of self-simplicity is an excellent way to become re-introduced with what really matters, and to pave way for abundance in these areas of your life. Being bombarded by useless facts and figures is a sure way to kill creativity and dreams, so I’m an advocate of information minimisation, and I hope these thoughts are of benefit to your readers.
Cheers,
Jason – http://www.kickstartacause.com
Sridhar says
Thank you so much for the wonderful post!!
Luna Darcy says
Hi Erik,
Brilliant post!
I love advice number 1. And you’ll be glad to know I go to work and shop around wearing the same thing as you: tshirt, jeans, instead of Vans though I wear a running shoes. It’s comfortable and it’s who am I. But more importantly, as you pointed out, it lessens the time spent in front of the mirror and gives me more time to build my relationships with my family and the people around me.
I love being a minimalist.
Luna
Mark Tong says
Hi Eric – excellent post. We got rid of our TV countless years ago and I haven’t worn a watch for years. Enjoy life simply and enjoy life slowly! That’s where the joy in life is.
Jacqueline says
Its sad isn,t it that if you don,t look at your mobile every hour we think the world would end, i went out for the day and thought next time i am going to leave my phone at home, as for the t.v and papers boring, i turned the t.v off for a whole week and have done this from time to time and its amasing what you can get done, when i move house soon no t.v and i wont miss it, also maybe no internet either which will be hard but eh this has to mean new opportunities and earlier nights to bed, get up earlier and achieve far more than looking/reading the same old stuff on my laptop, i am going to embrace this new season, we certainly over complicate stuff don,t we, no wonder we walk around in a fog and lose our way, thanks for the great reminders we all need to simplify our lives
Jacqueline xxxx
Melinda says
I’ve been on my own minimalism journey for 10 months now.
Eric Ungs says
Congrats Melinda! :)
Melinda says
Thank you. It really does lessen the stress!
Judy says
Melinda, I love your website :)
I’ll be back to read more.
Melinda says
Thank you so much, Judy! I hope you say hi while you’re there! And remind me where you saw me!
Clare Kennedy says
Oh my gosh, you write so beautifully. I love the part about life is lived int he mundane. I try so very hard to be present with my two year old Mabel. thank you so much for sharing this!
Eric Ungs says
Thanks so much for reading Clare :)
Pat McDonald says
When my husband and I decided to retire, live frugally and travel full time in our 19 ft RV, we began living a very simple lifestyle. I mean, how many clothes can you fit into a small cubbie (no closet)? And our 40 gallon water tank needed to last us about a week – yes, including showers. As electricity came mainly from our batteries and solar panel, we were very frugal with it. We had a small TV but rarely electricity to run it much. We did enjoy satelite radio, reading, cycling(we had little fold-ups), and cooking, and getting to know new places and people every day. After seven years, we settled down in our very favorite place of all and a little cottage just under 400 sq., and couldn’t be happier. We still retain the simple lifestyle we learned so well in those seven wonderful years on the road. Life is good.
Eric Ungs says
That is so amazing Pat. Great for the both of you. Thanks so much for sharing :)