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 because it is a countercultural lifestyle that stands against the culture of overconsumption that surrounds us.
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.
Simplicity Leads To Happiness In Children (And Here’s How to Do It) | Raised Good by Tracy Gillett. Slowing down feeds our souls and nurtures our families. No matter what parenting style we practice, this topic unites us.
Anger, Hunger, The Thrill Of The Hunt: What’s Your Spending Trigger? | Forbes by Maggie McGrath. Here’s a list of the nine most common—and costly—spending triggers.
How Your Insecurity is Bought and Sold | Mark Manson by Mark Manson. The vast majority of information that we’re exposed to is some form of marketing.
4 Absurdly Easy Things I Do That Make Life Disproportionately Better | Raptitude by David Cain. Lots of the things we spend our energy on are worthwhile, but some are a better deal than others.
Redefining Happiness | Huffington Post Video (2:52). Jay Shetty urges us to redefine happiness.
montanahappy.com says
Thank you for the list. I recently just screeched to a halt on my spending and clutter. Now I intend to stretch my living simply muscles and transform my life. Thank you for your insights. I look forward to reading your ideas and thanks for the article links.
Charlene says
Thank you! I look forward to your weekend email. Always wonderful links.
Cassie says
I loved “How Your Insecurity is Bought and Sold”. I had known about those concepts in marketing, but didn’t know the history. It seems to have really snow balled and targeted women in particular these days – although Axe and beer commercials are pretty bad too.
Dave M says
Thank you so much for all that you do. I really enjoy your writing and always look forward to the Weekend Reads.
Emily says
Hi Josh,
Thanks for this one.
I read them at midnight last night and put many kids toys in the cupboard this morning. I didn’t take their toys down to ten though. I let them pick their ten favourites which were all hard animal toys. Then I added one set of construction toys each and a few stuffed toys.
I loved the article about the four things. I certainly agree with the kitchen sink. One clean kitchen sink and wiped down benches are inviting for the new day. It was nice to see it written down.
Thanks
Tracy says
Thank you for including my article Joshua. And I’m thrilled you enjoyed it. Have a great weekend.
Slackerjo says
I often think that people are addicted to ‘complicated’ as much as they can be addicted to ‘busy’ as if something is not relevant or important if it doesn’t have 16 different features or choices.
I find minimalism allows me to relax because I am not bombarded with so many decisions. I wrote about it here:
https://deependofstupid.wordpress.com/2016/03/13/is-minimalism-different-on-a-lower-income/
John P. Weiss says
I often read Mark Manson’s stuff, and the link here did not disappoint. There are so many subtle ways marketers nudge us toward buying. If you’ve ever moved or done a major “tidying up” then you start to think twice about more acquisitions. Which of course becomes more stuff! There’s something freeing about a lightened load. Thanks for the links!
Hannah says
Thanks for the fab links :)