The Secret to Minimalist Living is Shifting your Attitude towards Life

By Gilbert Ross

Editorial Note: This original article was written and published at SimpleOrganizedLife.com entitled “How to Live a More Minimalist Lifestyle”. I am sharing the article here and adding some short notes.

The below article illustrates a very important point about Simple Living and/or Minimalist Living. The very first point is succinct and hits the nail on its head – Living a minimalistic lifestyle is not owning less stuff but first and foremost wanting less stuff.  This is a very important point because it sheds light on the fact that conscious living or simple living requires a shift in attitude and perspective.

It requires that you see through the consumer-driven madness or as the author notes in the tips at the end of the article – “Take a conscious attitude to consumerism. Buy what you need. Sacrifice the urge to buy for the sake of fashion, or status, or to need something just because its new and on the market.” This takes me to another important point regarding the difference between needs and wants – a topic I covered in a lecture of this online course at Udemy.

Enjoy reading

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I bet you think the first step to living a minimalistic lifestyle is to own less stuff? Actually, I believe the first step it to want less stuff. To make a conscious choice to live a more minimalist lifestyle is to choose a certain mindstate; one that puts less emphasis on objects and materials, and more on simplicity and harmony.

It is first important to be realistic about how minimal a lifestyle is appropriate for you. Contrary to popular belief, being a minimalist does not necessarily mean giving up everything you own and washing only in the source of the river 15 kilometres up the road. In today’s society, where technology and objects can be almost fundamental to our lives, it is more challenging to be a complete minimalist, but increasingly important to understand the role of simplicity.

Let me tell you a little bit about an extremely minimalistic lifestyle I experienced during my travels. It might put some perspective on how the definition of minimalist can change depending on the situation and environment.

In the year 2013 I lived in a tent for over three months straight, the only exceptions being wood cabin refuges in the Pyrenees. I carried, for the sake of weight, and for the freedom of mind, only my food, shelter, clothes, and a writing pad. Let me just express how amazingly liberating it can be to live like this, with no distractions from the self, or from the beauty of the moment. No emails to check. No media. No news reports, or any information from the world outside of my experience.

If this sounds boring to you then let me assure you it is absolutely not. It is inspiring, enlightening, painful, emotional, it tears you down, and sets you free. If you ever get the opportunity to live for one week without anything other than raw life then this is the best way to understand the minimalist mindstate.

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Philosophers stone – selected views from the boat http://philosophers-stone.co.uk