Minimalism: how to live a meaningful life

Hello thinking creatures!

Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life - This is a wonderful book of two friends Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, which, as they say, found me myself. When a few months ago we decided get rid of the tv , I was wondering, are we alone? The blog minimalist friends became my first source about a new lifestyle for me called “minimalism”. After reading a few of their articles, I bought their book. Interestingly, sometimes you learn something about people and think: "no, this is extreme." And then suddenly you realize that there is nothing extreme here. It's just that people, like all of us, are looking for happiness! And as it turned out, there are many such people: more than two million thinking creatures visit the minimalist blog annually.

Agree, there is something very attractive and romantic in such a free lifestyle. We all want to fill our lives with moments that matter, and get rid of all the “garbage” that weights (negative people, bad relationships, lots of unnecessary things, etc.), but not everyone has the courage. These guys made up their minds, changed their lives for the better themselves and have been sharing tips and inspiring their readers for life changes for several years now. They rightly deserve the online success they are enjoying now.

This book I read in two evenings, it is small, only 119 pages. Everything is in the spirit of minimalism - briefly, but in essence. It is interesting that for me it did not become a special discovery, that is, to many things that the guys are talking about, we have already reached ourselves in our path to self-improvement and the search for happiness. In some chapters of the book, it seemed to me that the explanations were too simple and not deep enough. At the same time, it was very useful to read someone’s thoughts and understand that, firstly, we are not the only ones “thinking”, and secondly, to make sure that the changes we are trying to take are able to work, Moreover, they are already working for someone. A good role model and inspiration is always good to have.

The guys very frankly talk about their life, which from the side seemed quite successful for others, although the inner emptiness grew every day. They “achieved” everything in life themselves: they had a well-paid job, houses, cars ... And now, when the “American dream” seemed very close, they finally decided to honestly look at their lives from the side. It turned out that all these material values ​​did not make them happy, on the contrary, the more they had, the more emptiness grew in their life, which they sought to fill with even bigger things.

The guys very well describe how their personalities disappeared into their profession . They worked days and nights at work that they didn’t particularly like, to achieve a certain status, to become significant through this status, to receive another promotion or praise from their superiors. They thought: “Let us be in poor physical shape, poor in health, unhappy ... BUT we make money.”

And then, as the Russian proverb says, “there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped”: Joshua's mother died. And they understood: only a certain time was given to us on this earth. We can spend it, gaining material wealth, or we can spend this time living our lives meaningfully and meaningfully . They decided to choose the latter. They chose minimalism as a tool that allowed them to get rid of the unnecessary, to focus on the important, to find happiness, a sense of satisfaction and freedom .

Today, living a meaningful life for guys means being able to do the following:

1. Take care of your health

There is nothing more important than health, so healthy eating and exercise have become uncompromising components of their lives.

2. Have a good relationship

Often in life it turns out that we spend more time with people to whom we are practically indifferent (usually our work colleagues), and less time with those whom we love and whom we truly value (our family, children, parents , friends). The guys decided to review their relationship and give them time, depending on their importance. Such an obvious and simple, but at the same time cardinal and ingenious decision.

3. Find your passion in life (a favorite thing)

Favorite business, as they say, can not be called work. The guys call it “mission”, which differs significantly from “work” or “career”. Despite the fact that almost the whole world appreciates human significance, depending on who people work and how much money they earn, this does not mean that you should follow his lead. Ask yourself, who are you as a person? You are not your work, not your things, not your condition. You are a growing personality. You are capable of much. Find what you really want to do, there is a great chance that your favorite business will give you the opportunity to earn enough to pay your bills. When you understand that you do not need a lot of money for happiness, you realize that doing what you love is a feasible dream.

4. Grow as a person

What seemed impossible yesterday will often seem possible tomorrow. A person needs to constantly develop, raise his standards and the bar of the “impossible”. Slowly but surely grow as a person. “Getting outside your comfort zone is an important part of growth”.

5. Make a valuable contribution to society

The more we grow and succeed, the more opportunities we have to help others. The more we help others, the more we grow as individuals. Absolute truth. “The truth is that giving is living.”

Interestingly, minimalism is often associated with how people live without something: without a bunch of things, without unnecessary electronics, without a car, and more. The value of this book for me was the realization that minimalism is not so much about what we get rid of in our lives, it is more about how we fill our lives . It seems to me that this was the idea of ​​the authors of this book, if so, they clearly and clearly conveyed it to readers.

What do you think, thinking creatures? Are you interested in the minimalist lifestyle?

Book as a gift!

CONSCIOUS LIFE: