Very few people, if you were to sit across from them over coffee, would proclaim that owning everything in the world is their greatest goal in life.
Most people would answer quite differently.
When you engage in heartfelt conversations and ask people what they want to accomplish in life, most speak of love, relationships, impact, and significance. They desire to live meaningful lives, close to the people they love the most. Many speak of faith. Or they talk about solving important problems. But very few proudly declare, “I just want to make as much money and own as much stuff as I possibly can.”
Our hearts speak of something greater, more fulfilling, and longer lasting.
I bet yours does too.
And yet, too often it seems, we trade our heart’s greatest pursuits and greatest passions for the temporal possessions of this world.
I once had dinner with a man who mentors outgoing CEO’s and corporate executives in the Pacific Northwest. I asked him about his work and how he got started in it. He told me, “Joshua, I had a surprising number of retiring executives come to me and say something along the lines of, ‘I feel like I wasted my life.’”
He went on to tell me more. That these men and women had spent their lives investing into and building companies that were successful by almost every standard of measurement. But at the end, the only question they were asking was, “Was it all worth it?”
Now, just to be clear, this is not a post about the merits of corporations or their executives. Indeed, some of the people I most look up to in life are highly successful in business and live meaningful lives at the same time.
This is a post about something else entirely. This is a post about the temptation that surrounds each of us, every day, to trade our greatest passions for the things of this world.
Because minimalism is about more than owning less.
Minimalism is also about alignment.
It is about removing the burden of unnecessary physical possessions from our homes and lives. But it is also about reevaluating the esteem that possessions hold in our affections. And being intentional about removing the distractions that keep us from realizing our most important goals.
It is freeing to own less. Owning less frees up money and time and energy and focus. But it frees up more than that.
Minimalism frees our lives to realign our resources around the greatest passions of our heart. (tweet that)
And this is a benefit that cannot be overstated.
Grab a sheet of paper. Across the top, write, “The Three Most Important Things I Want to Accomplish with My Life.”
Quietly, make your list.
When you are finished, begin asking yourself hard questions about alignment. Am I spending my money pursuing these accomplishments? Have I crafted a life that devotes enough time and energy toward this list? Have I allowed any distractions (whether physical possessions or time commitments) to take precedence over any of these items? Are there other, less important pursuits in my life keeping me from fully accomplishing this list?
Have I allowed my greatest passions and most important desires to be usurped by the world around me? Have I chased society’s definition of success rather than my own?
In the end, we’re all going to ask ourselves, “Were the things I devoted my life to worth it?”
And if we discover at that time, that we traded our most meaningful passions for the things of this world, it will be a trade we’ll regret making.
Jack says
My goal in life is to get through it, and get it over with. Life isn’t a bunch of roses or even a bunch of rotten bananas for that matter. To me this article is like reading about life on another planet.
Edgar Wayne Webb says
I’m buying each of my two grandkids girl and boy a copy of Walden. I keep a copy by my bed and read and re-read it. I’ve learned more from it than any religious document including James’ anthology.
Hillary says
What a beautiful comment and gift for your grandchildren. I first read Walden as an adult and am currently re-reading it. I was surprised to find that things we think are modern problems, like consumerism, were so present and deeply considered pre Civil War. Whatever you think about Thoreau, his words inspired environmental and civil rights activists to make this world a better place, and his words are powerful.
Dave says
My thoughts on this:
Happiness is always relative. A person who’s never had money or glory would certainly crave it much more than someone who’s already been there and done it. But to someone who has done it and has experienced the pain and pressure of chasing these things, a different life would be preferable.
These people who have chased success all their lives may have felt that they wasted their life…but in my opinion, they didn’t. They pursued what they felt was more important at that time in their life. As a person gets older, their perspective in life changes.
If they did NOT pursue their dreams, whether it was materialistic or not, what would they have done differently? In my opinion, they would have ended up miserable at the fact that they didn’t put forth the effort to achieve their goals. And they still probably would have felt they wasted their life.
Bottom line, what’s most important is that you follow your own desires, and nobody else’s. As of right now, I am content with enjoying all of my time off in peace and freedom, with no real goal other than to enjoy my life. Will that change in the future? Most likely. But I believe that living one moment at a time according to your own desires and ideas will lead you to happiness…whether it’s grinding for that big screen TV, or helping others, or finding the love of your life, or saving the world, or just enjoying a moment of tranquility.
Pat McCormick says
We came into this world naked… without money, possessions… even knowledge and memories. We leave it without money and possessions… Knowledge and memories are information and according to current scientific theories… are infinite. They will exist after your physical form has been reduced to dust. There is a profound reason why this is so. It is at the core of the mystery that we are all tasked to solve… “What is life?”
Jack J Baldwi says
flawed assumptions from the start. the base being there is meaning or purpose here. this place whatever is one of relativity, of relation. that means there can be no absolutes here. to bring them or even attempt to impose them would likely result in the rest of the reality which would have been labeled other, will have no choice to seeming close ranks and oppose. will is not free, it is like a muscle, and the other is always at least our match. shadow boxing is like that.
Raven Williamson says
I am happy with my lifes work. its been hard at times,but its paid off in ways that defy logic. I get everything in the world,if that’s what I need at that moment. My world is my own. I set the size of it everyday. Sometimes I include others, sometimes I am the only one in my world.This works for me. Subsistance existance…If I need a lot ,I take alot, but I use everything I take with none left over,only taking what I need. If i want “big”…there must be a “big” reason,then big happens , if not …I am satifsied with small..because small is just the right size to fit small since the goals is to “finish” small.In such a case, “Big” would be too much,then you must get rid of the excess ( more work.)
my lifes goal…finding what I absolutely enjoy doing more than anything else……and let it kill me! I will die happy! Since I will grow old and die anyway,eventually….. I will make it happen on my terms! no regrets.
RDP says
Chapter 2 of The Appeal (2008): “No amount of money could ever satisfy Mr Trudeau. There were bigger men in town, and he was running to catch them.”
The absolute final line of that same book: “Now that he had three billion, he really wanted six.”
Sadly, bartering rarely works. You need money.
Miciah Martin says
This all sounds quite nice, in reality less than .001% of the population actually believe this. Many say they do. Talk is cheap. It is easier for a camel to got through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to enter heaven. Don’t worry Church is something I despise now. Most involved openly despise and hate the poor. So many phonies in this world.
jacqueline says
me and my friend were texting each other today and the word contenment came up, and i thought yes thats right for me at this moment, making me appreciate what i have, i consider myself rich with all i have . clean water, warm bed, sufficient food, so easy to lose sight of the important, i think what Jesus says Be wise in what we invest in. xxx lv Jacqueline x
abbie says
Thanks for a fabulous post! Reminders of focus are so needed for me (and probably some others too!).
My favorite part of this post is all the comments – I love seeing people thinking through their lives and actions and considering what they really want!
Emily Nelson says
Joshua,
You hit the nail on the head. Being intentional in our choices and aligning them with our truest values is more than half the battle!
I’ve found that the less I own, the less I’m owned. The beauty of less is it gives more of what matters most space to breathe.
Thanks for the awesome content!
XO,
Emily