Understanding minimalism can help us understand what it means to have self-worth. The first part of it is that we say no to things that don’t deserve our time and attention. The second part is that we give time to things that deserve our time and attention.
You can only do the second part right when you do the first part correctly. Minimalism, therefore, demands that you give less importance to the arbitrary expectations of others on you and that you don’t fall prey to the fear of missing out (FOMO). Furthermore, it demands that you try to simplify your life and find the things that have meaning in your life, and then treasure them.
But equally important is that you also have to remove the things that don’t matter in your
- relationships
- schedule
- possessions
- house
Emphasis on simplicity, intentional living, and reducing waste in the lifestyle is the philosophy of minimalism. It means if you are spending time in a way that doesn’t add meaning to your life, then you should stop. If you are buying things that don’t add meaning to your life, then you should stop buying them. Or if you are keeping relationships that don’t add meaning to your life, then you should move away from them.
Let’s explore this more. For instance, a person is spending three hours a day on social media for entertainment. What if they cut one hour from that and only give two hours a day to social media? Did that have any major effect on them?
What about giving only one hour a day?
Or what about giving just 30 minutes a day?
If they don’t feel too different after giving 30 minutes or three hours on social media, then it’s highly recommended that they cut out some time from social media.
A person should keep cutting till he gets to a point where giving less time to social media removes meaning in their life.