“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” —Nelson Mandela
We own too much stuff. And it is stealing our joy.
Consider how our possessions deplete our most finite and valuable resources:
Money: Everything we buy moves our financial balance closer to zero, sometimes even below. The Average American with credit card debt lives with $15,956 debt spread out over 3.5 credit cards. But it is not only families with debt that struggle. Recent statistics report nearly 8 out of every 10 Americans live paycheck-to-paycheck.
Time: Our possessions rob us of precious minutes every day. They are required to be cleaned, organized, maintained, fixed, recycled, removed, and replaced. And that doesn’t even begin to account for all the time we spent working in the first place just to earn the money to buy the possessions that we take home to be cleaned and organized and maintained and…
Energy: Our excessive possessions demand our attention and mental energy. Clutter in our life contends for our eyes, our attention, and our focus. Our minds are subtly consumed with the pursuit of possessions. And the temptation to compare our possessions with those around us permeates our thoughts more than we’d like to admit.
But there is a far better way to live life. The removal of excessive possessions and the intentional decision to live with less offers countless benefits. In exchange for removing the clutter, we are rewarded with newfound finances, time, energy, freedom, and mental capacity. Our lives are lived with less stress, less anxiety, and less burden.
Life is immediately improved. Our finite resources become more available to us. In short, we are freed to pursue our greatest passions. And for some of us, it’s been a long time since we had access to the necessary finite resources required to chase our heart’s greatest delights—however we decide to define them.
For too long, we’ve bought into the lie that more is better. We’ve bought bigger houses and faster cars and trendier clothes and cooler toys, but we’ve traded far more than time and money to acquire them. We’ve traded the very passions and life we most desperately desire to pursue.
But they can be rediscovered. After all…
- Living with less offers more time to spend on meaningful activities.
- Living with less offers more freedom to travel and move about.
- Living with less offers more clarity in our spiritual pursuits.
- Living with less offers more mental capacity to solve our most heartfelt problems in life.
- Living with less offers more finances to support causes we believe in.
- Living with less even offers far greater flexibility in pursuing the careers we most desire.
Owning fewer possessions provides the perfect roadmap for living the life you’ve always dreamed of living. One that is lived pursuing the greatest passions in your heart. Maybe for the first time. Finally.
Maria Pinto says
A few documentaries that are very enlightening. The first is “The Story of Stuff”, and the second is “Afluenza”. They are real eye openers.
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Kim says
i find the most important thing about living with less is the discipline of the wandering eye. I am trying to focus more on the beauty of nature and less on the beauty of stuff. Sometimes it is hard to give things up but once I do I find I am left with the tremendous gift of free time, of quiet, and peace.
Maria Pinto says
Peace is the optimal word here. The knowledge that you are no longer a “Slave” to your “Stuff”. That is freedom also to know the difference and make conscious choices going forward.
Friday says
Absolutely !!! Love this
💞😘❤️
Deidre says
Thanks Joshua for addressing such an important issue in American culture. Simplicity resonates to my core. In 2009, I was laid off from earning $26 per hour and had to live on minimum wage with unemployment and took any job I could get. Often times, I was turned down for work because I was too qualified. I had already simplified my life: I didn’t own a car. I gave up the rental apartment and rented a room. I didn’t have credit cards and deferred my student loans…I’d been paying $700 a month for seven years..In hard times, deferment was a good thing. I learned to live off of $800 a month. I remind myself everyday that “all my needs are met.” I rented videos from the public library for free. I shared grocery costs with my roommate and cooked meals and cleaned the house and garden for reduced rent. I read books more…there was no t.v. in the house I lived. I took Greyhound buses vs airlines to visit my family. I found a way to live within my means. I believe in what you’re saying. But it’s so important to get to the place where you really believe having less is better for you. You’ve got to believe you are still a good person without “things.” Our ancestors did it. Perhaps we can learn a bit from how they lived.
Friday says
Hard to believe and yet so true !
Jim says
I agree with the statements that this post states, and will continue to utilize the technics to becomeing less clutterd! Thank you for your persistence for the cause!