How To Have The Minimalist Mindset

Jul 22, 2018 | Minimalism, Simple Living

The Minimalist Mindset:  Get Your Brain in the Game

Minimalism is this lofty goal so many of us have, and often we think it involves just our STUFF.  However, as I’ve learned, minimalism involves so much more.  Here are a few ways to get into the minimalist mindset:

  1. Reframe your brain. The minimalist lifestyle is really more of a mentality.  It involves reframing your brain to focus less on things and more on people and experiences.  It involves literally re-training your brain to recognize what is clutter in your life and making conscious decisions of what to allow in.
  2. Learn to say “no.”  It’s hard to live as a minimalist in today’s world.  Our culture is always telling you that you need ‘more’ in your life, so you will always be finding yourself saying no to physical items, obligations on the calendar, and other clutter that wants to creep in.  Learning to say no is one of the best skills you can obtain as you seek to live a minimalist life.  
  3. Approach it as a continuous journey.  Minimalism is something you will have to choose to live each day.  It’s not something that will always come naturally.  It’s very easy to wake up one day and realize you are over-committed, own too much, and stressed out.  It happens little by little, so you have to constantly be aware of ways you can live as a minimalist.  
  4. There’s no ONE formula.  What is a minimalist lifestyle for me may not be the same for you.  We don’t have to follow a specific set of rules.  Yes, it’s nice to think about a capsule wardrobe of only 30 items, but if you have 60 items you can still be considered a minimalist.  Minimalism is a goal we all strive for and based on our own circumstances, it may look vastly different from someone else’s life.  
  5. Filled with grace.  You will fail at times with your minimalism goals.  You will want up one day and realize that you have slipped in your focus.  You will have people in your life who don’t embrace minimalism and in fact, they embrace the exact opposite.  The point is, we need to be filled with grace for yourself and for others.  

Minimalism starts in the mind, not in your junk drawer.  When you have a healthy approach toward minimalism, you will find that you don’t need to declutter or organize as much because you simply will have less stuff around to deal with.  You will find you have more space to be creative.