Empowering Yourself with Minimalism
Because “Minimalism” used to be a buzz word.
My discovery of minimalism started somewhere around the end of 2017 through the beginning of 2018, much like how everyone else has discovered it. Likely from a random, interesting thumbnail on a random YouTube video or perhaps a visually appealing Instagram post.
But that doesn’t matter that much. What matters is that we all got to a point where we were unhappy for an unknown reason and that we were willing to make large changes to our lives for seemingly no reason at all(for most).
While I still believe that minimalism at it’s core still holds a lot of value, I equally see that it has transformed more into an expensive aesthetic over what was initially supposed to be a movement towards lessening our belongings and impact on the world from an environmental standing.
We all want to do better and many of us like feeling like we are making positive change when we convert to minimalism. We consume less, we spend less, we spend more time out in nature, focus on the experience rather than the photo, and the list of benefits goes on. So when did minimalism just become a trend rather than a movement?
To be short, I’m not really sure.
I think it is a valiant effort to set in your ways that you want to be less wasteful and to own more of what you need rather than want.
Let me reiterate on it being a valiant effort.
We all know that social media steals our data and all that. We all continue to use the platforms, that’s not what this article is about. I do think it’s important to mention what these platforms do to our spending habits.
Imagine every item you’ve seen being marketed or sold on these platforms, now imagine the likelihood of you ever coming across this item had you not seen the marketing campaign on whichever platform? While I realize that there is a benefit to some people to get their product out there, you can only say no so many times before you just start saying yes from the mental exhaustion caving to the pressure of “needing” to buy something because “it will fix everything.”
The issue of consumption lies not with the fact that some of us consider ourselves minimalist and others not, but that marketing and platforms have begun to work together and have done it extremely well. Knowing that, this could be your moment to step away from the platforms that want your data for just a day to reflect on how your life has changed just simply on the premise of using social media or not using social media(really this goes out to all forms of media).
Minimalism was never supposed to just be an aesthetic or just for the amount of belongings you had or have, it was supposed to go much deeper than that. At it’s core, it was supposed to change the way that you think. The shift from consuming everything when able, to consuming only what you need. From buying the next thing, or realizing your current thing is nearly the same as the new thing. To grocery shopping for what you know you’ll eat versus just buying food to fill shelves.
Minimalism has been lost in translation.
The word minimalism isn’t what needs to be debated. The values and morals of the word are what needs to be resurfaced. There have been many words like it, but the value of the word though the sounds change have stayed the same.
What are your thoughts on minimalism?
Have you heard of minimalism?
How do you believe our individual and environmental needs should be met?
Leave a comment if you think I could explain myself in a more concise way or leave a bigger comment if I’m wrong on multiple levels. If you especially want to vocalize your opinion, share this article with others.
Thank you for taking the time to read this little article straight from my mind.
