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While minimalism is often used to refer to the process of eliminating clutter and distractions from your physical environment, the minimalist lifestyle undoubtedly begins with a change in your mindset.
Minimalism is defined as the intentional, systematic process of finding your real values in life – the things that bring you joy, that contribute to your happiness – and then removing the things that only serve as clutter and distractions, in a physical, emotional, and mental sense.
It’s a lifestyle that has no set rules because the priorities in one person’s life are going to differ wildly from another. It might start with clearing out a cupboard. But as you realise that minimalism isn’t about living with less but rather, making more time, money, and energy available for the things that are truly important to you, maybe this mindset expands into multiple facets of your life.
Physical possessions.
Relationships.
Money.
Your career.
You, and your own needs.
Allowing minimalism to benefit you in every part of your life starts with cultivating a minimalist mindset.
What is a minimalist mindset?
A minimalist mindset means bringing awareness into how you operate on a daily basis. It means living intentionally, and creating the habit to be able to step back and ask yourself why you are doing the things you do – and most importantly, being able to assess whether those actions are adding towards your values in life, or detracting from those priorities.
Cultivating a minimalist mindset can help you:
- Identify what facets of your life you’d like to focus on more
- Recognise when you need to clear your own mental clutter
- Be more mindful of your actions towards yourself and others
- Allow you to focus your time and energy on the things that make you happy
- Build a habit of living with intention
How to create a minimalist mindset?
Cultivating a minimalist mindset is an on-going process. Just as mindfulness is not a course you can complete and move on from, living intentionally simply becomes a part of your life every day, until at some point it becomes second nature to you.
With that said, there are of course some habits you can out in place to switch your mindset to a more minimalist perspective. This could include:
- Read this article on 8 easy steps to become a minimalist
- Making a habit of decluttering your physical environment. What’s outside affects the inside and vice versa.
- Consider starting a meditation (or mindfulness) practise to help bring your mind into the present. I love the Calm app for this.
- Learn to be frugal with your money and start spending smarter
- Think about all the different ways you could introduce more minimalist practices into your life – including even a minimalist diet