In sociology, a tipping point is “a point in time when a group—or a large number of group members—rapidly and dramatically changes its behavior by widely adopting a previously rare practice.” In some circles, it represents the percentage required to change the direction or behavior of a crowd.
Malcolm Gladwell wrote a New York Times bestseller on this entire premise, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.
According to Gladwell, the percentage required to change the direction of a crowd is usually much smaller than most of us assume and the notion of tipping points can be used to explain why change often happens quickly and unexpectedly.
In the same way as a virus can spread rapidly through a population, so too can behavioural change, particularly within a group. For instance, a small action by one individual within a crowd can influence the actions of other individuals within the crowd, and so on, until the behaviour becomes widespread. Thus, small, initial changes have the potential to make significant differences overall.
One of the best examples of how a small action can influence the behavior of an entire crowd is this famous YouTube video of one person who single-handedly sparked an entire dance party among strangers. It’s short and pretty good.
Tipping points can often be much smaller than we realize. Some have even made the claim that it takes only 6% to change the entire direction of a crowd (though that statistic appears unsubstantitated by any legitimate research).
In reality, the actual percentage required to change the direction of a crowd is based on any number of significant factors: the change agents involved (how persuasive and reputable are those attempting to change the direction), the focus/intent of the crowd (a meandering protest is easier to persuade than a focused crowd heading to a specific location) and the substance of the change (drawing attention to the need for a hasty evacuation, for example).
But the point is, a small action by one individual within a crowd can often influence the actions of others within the crowd—which holds the potential to influence even more, potentially to the level of reaching a tipping point for the entire crowd. And I think that is important to realize.
I often wonder to myself if minimalism could ever reach the size of critical mass in society. Could the number of people intentionally owning less ever grow to the level of tipping point that causes others to rapidly and dramatically change their behavior even though it is a previously rare practice?
My hope is yes.
This website and others like it continue to grow. Stories get covered. Books are being written. New websites continue to emerge. And films are being made.
Even so, despite the growth, there is significant work to be done. Last month, over 1 million readers visited Becoming Minimalist and the Facebook group has grown to 2,500,000 people with a weekly reach over 15 million. Those are impressive numbers. But still, to reach even a 6% threshold, in America alone we would need 20 million readers… and that’s still a bit off (plus, there is no assurance that percentage would even have the desired impact).
Which got me wondering… maybe I’m focusing on the wrong crowd.
Maybe the question shouldn’t be, “How can we change an entire society?”
Maybe the question should be, “How can I first change my family or my friendship group?” Because, in these cases, the tipping point is more attainable and entirely possible.
Think of it this way, based on the principle of the tipping point, no matter what positive influence you are hoping to have, you don’t need to convince everyone, you begin by convincing one other person.
If your desire is to get your family to eat healthier, you don’t need to convince every member of your family to make the change. You just need to convince one family member. If you have a family of four, and two of them are asking for more vegetables and less processed food around the dinner table, your family is going to begin serving healthier meals.
If you want to see your friends engage in a healthier lifestyle, you don’t need to convince all of them to start going to the gym with you. Instead, just convince one person. When you two begin spending time at the gym in the evenings, there is a good chance one other will choose to join you. And when they do, the others might choose to come along as well. A tipping point has been reached.
If your desire is minimalist (or even clutterfree) living, but you cannot get your partner to align with your desire. Rather than forcing him/her to come along, gently encourage other family members to embrace the lifestyle. Sell your son or daughter on the benefits. Because when two people in the family desire a clutterfree environment, there is a good chance the environment will begin to change.
If you want to inspire people to change, you don’t need a microphone. You only need a conversation. (tweet that)
Allow your example and your story to change the habits of one person. In so doing, your small action within a crowd can influence the actions of other individuals within the crowd. Their action can influence others. And a tipping point within your circle of influence can be reached.
And maybe then, as more and more circles of people embrace minimalist living, a tipping point in our society can be attained.
Kariane says
I love this! And it’s a principle I live by. Change begins with Me. Then I influence one more. And then we can each influence one more. And slowly, on and on, things begin to grow.
Judy says
I’m starting with the man in the mirror! :)
Margaret says
whoaaa I instantly feel so much more powerful hahaha
Holly Dominguez says
Joshua, I love that you shared this concept with us! I am a firm believer in “Lead By Example”. You do that beautifully, which is why I get my regular dose of inspiration from you.
Speaking of inspiration, when embarking on minimalism and imagining a new lifestyle, I went to Pinterest to visually get an idea of what “minimalism” looked like. When I began my journey in February 2012, there were like 6 Pinterest boards on minimalism. I just did a board search, and was surprised to find 1,000 boards (that’s all Pinterest will show) for each keyword, “Minimalism” and “Minimalist”. Didn’t matter to me whether the boards were on fashion, lifestyle, architecture, graphic design, or whatever. The concept of minimalism has been planted inside people’s heads, but more importantly, it’s the early adopters who are creatively sharing their concepts of minimalism. Is the tide turning? Slowly, but surely!
Sneha says
Great article.,really touching one.alike mostly happening and touched situation in my life itself.thank for the tips what u were discussed here.Luv to be here..
John P. Weiss says
The success of Marie Kondo’s book and websites like yours seem to reflect a yearning for people to find meaning. Acquiring stuff brings fleeting joy, mostly. I don’t know if minimalism will reach a tipping point some day, but it does offer solace for folks weary of the rat race. Thinkers like you, Joshua, and theminimalists.com inspired me to write some articles about the power of simplicity and “less is more.” Thanks for another thoughtful post.
Ian Carlo says
Thanks for sharing Joshua.
I am from the Philippines and has started to adapt minimalism after reading your blog and has documented my learning in theminimalistmoney.com.
What I found out though is every-time I share something about minimalism, I only get a few views while if it is about money, i get more.
This just shows that there is always room for minimalism to grow until we reach that tipping point. I will be with you all the way and hope I could share your knowledge on this side of the world.
Thanks again. You are an inspiration.
Lel says
Hi Joshua! Thank you for another wonderful sharing.
Hi Ian Carlo! It’s nice to know there’s also someone from the Philippines who’s been inspired in becoming a minimalist. I have been following Joshua’s blog for more than 2 yrs now and have been greatly inspired by his stories and those of his guest contributors.
In those years, I’ve purged a lot and have done lots and lots of decluttering, garage and online sales, and donating. I must say such experiences of detaching and giving away have been quite liberating. In my journey, however, I’ve encountered lots of bumps down the road as I would realize sooner or later that more stuff have just crept in slowly in our home. It’s a never ending process but I must say that I am hopeful and it’s really good to know that I have finally found a kababayan who also appreciates such a choice or lifestyle if I must say so.
Good luck on both your blogs :)
Carina says
I really like this way of thinking about positive action. There is a power in simply doing what you believe is right, even if it is different than what the crowd is doing. “Speak your truth quietly and clearly”, as Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said. When you think of it that way, your actions don’t feel hopeless – like “what is the point?” – because that lonely action itself, that example, is where the base for the tipping point emerges, and it creates momentum that might help reach it. Thanks for the post, Joshua.
Judy says
Black Friday sales are expected to increase by 2 1/2 percent from last year. I can’t understand why. I just don’t get it. How can people shop so much?! ;(
Naomi Alexander says
“We used to build civilisations, now we build shopping malls.”
Julie says
I agree with your idea of a tipping point being much more personal. Interesting that Suzie would bring up some saints. There is a concept in Catholic social teaching called Subsidiarity. The idea is, those closest to a problem are the ones with the most knowledge, and means to fix it. Our lives live outwards in concentric circles with family first, friends, church, city, state, nation etc. In living this way, we focus our attentions on those we have the greatest influence with and love for. Not a bad way to spend our time.
Naomi Alexander says
Very interesting to read this which links in with something I just wrote about consumerism and ‘herd-mentality’. We rarely educate ourselves on which products or experiences make us happy as individuals (not everyone likes foreign holidays or theme parks).
Yes, we should spend less money (and be more minimalist) but wouldn’t it be nice if the ‘consuming’ we had to do actually resulted in ‘making us happy’ ?! http://www.slendermeans.co.uk/general/consumerism/