“Success isn’t how far you got, but the distance you traveled from where you started.” —Steven Prefontaine
Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it. It requires a conscious decision. It is a counter-cultural lifestyle that stands against the culture of overconsumption we live in.
The world we live in is not friendly to the pursuit of minimalism. Its tendencies and relentless advertising campaigns call us to acquire more, better, faster, and newer. The journey of finding simplicity requires consistent inspiration.
For that reason, I hope you will make an effort this weekend to find a quiet moment with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy some of these hand-picked articles to encourage more simplicity in your life.
Escape from the Matrix | Aeon Magazine by Jacob Burak. The fear of missing out haunts our social networks and our real lives alike. But there is a way to break free.
12 Rituals Happy, Successful People Practice Every Day | Marc and Angel Hack Life by Marc Chernoff. Loosen your grip on what’s not meant to fit in to your life.
Treating People with Kindness | Seth Godin by Seth Godin. Treat people with kindness merely because you can.
6 Danger Signs of Emotional Spending | US News and World Report by Sabah Karimi. Watch out for these shopping addiction red flags.
Freedom From Stuff | The Art of Simple Podcast with Tsh Oxenreider. Recently, I sat down with Tsh to talk minimalism, parenting, and pursuing life with less stuff (43:11).
You know, Josh…
Only a few people link out to other people’s great articles, just to further enrich their own audience.
For one, I know Marc and Angel’s articles. I would check out the posts gratefully.
God bless you, Joshua.
The quote alone has changed my thinking today. I can’t wait to hear your talk with Tsh. Thank you for sharing your insight and encouragement.
Great articles this week! I recently wrecked my phone in some water and didn’t have the cash to replace it for a couple weeks. It is my only phone. It was shocking to me how many people were utterly distressed by my situation and told me that they ‘couldn’t live’ without their phone. I survived. I also wonder about people equating availability with importance- my boss recently was working on her computer and had an angry reaction to an email alert noise. I told her I have turned off all alert noises (emails, texts, ringers etc.) and she told me she couldn’t do that because administrators are ‘to be constantly available’. I hope people would understand if I checked my email hourly instead of instantly
Thanks you for these. In addition to expanding my minimalism (is that a contradiction?) I am always looking for more inspiration.
Joshua,
I loved Escape from the Matrix. Great read!
Also, thank you for including our article on positive rituals. :)
You right about needing constant inspiration. The Escape from the Matrix article was interesting. I’m pleased that I would only have mild discomfort for any of the situations presented at the beginning of the article. It’s a good test for a minimalist mindset, where your thoughts and actions associated with minimalism go beyond how much stuff you have.
Hi. Great article. I just had conversation with my 12yo about this. She was not happy about the fact that her favorite youtuber is endorced by a company and has motives other than trying to show her viewers a great product.
Joshua, That was a fascinating article on the “fear of missing out” and how it keeps us tied to social media networks. I was quite sure how “good enough” will set us free, but I’ll ponder that! Thanks for keeping us in the slow lane.
Josh and Sandra, ditto!….and the reason I don’t have a cell phone lol. Thanks!