Seventeen years ago, I discovered minimalism. It only took one simple sentence from my neighbor to change my view of material things forever. Here is what he said:
“That’s why my daughter is such a humble person. She keeps telling me that there’s no need to own all these things.”
The statement came at a typical time: I was cleaning out my garage on Saturday afternoon.
However, this statement came at the most appropriate time: When my heart (and mind) was ready to receive it.
I had just spent a beautiful Saturday morning hauling dirty, dusty things out of my garage and onto the driveway. And I had done it all at the expense of my 5-year-old son, who was asking me to play catch with him in the backyard.
That day I realized that all the stuff I had collected was not just making me happy, it was distracting me from what I had done.
In the beginning, simplifying my life was about having less space and opening up the visual space. But the removed visual space soon gave way to a clearer mental space. And over time, I began to see other areas of my life where the principles of small could be applied. Every area of life where distraction has taken us away from our deepest values and passions becomes an opportunity to simplify.
Believe it or not, this post today is the 2,000th article published on Becoming Minimalist. That’s 2.5 articles/week for the past 17 years.
Over the years, I’ve written a lot about the life lessons I’ve learned about minimalism. But as I reflect on my journey through this historic topic, all lessons lead to one perhaps most important truth:
Our lives are too precious to waste chasing and accumulating material things.
In fact, this may be the single most important truth I’ve learned and wish to share about Becoming Minimalist. I hope you will feel it today in your heart.
You see, minimalism didn’t just give me a clean garage, it changed the way I looked at the world—and the way I looked at my strengths and opportunities.
Simplifying things didn’t just give me back my life, it paved the way for a fuller, deeper, and more meaningful life. Carrying less means we can continue to pursue our biggest dreams and ambitions.
Minimalism allows us to dream big dreams about our life. When distractions are removed, purpose is found, self-growth is realized, and confidence grows.
Looking back, here are a few lessons I’ve learned and try to communicate regularly on this site. Each of them helps us gain greater strength and greater self-esteem than material things:
1. The world will try to hijack your love. Don’t allow it.
We are all born with passions and talents within us. And deep down, a desire to serve and love. But the world has learned how to hijack that love and direct it to things that benefit someone else.
Salespeople have a knack for making us believe that we should use our energy to buy what they are selling. And society sells an image of success that focuses too much on external indicators.
But your greatest passions are not things that will be discarded in a few years. No one says their main goal in life is to have as much clutter as possible. We were designed and created for something more.
Simplification helped me realize that and minimalism forced me to question why I accumulated so much. It is true that unhealthy motivations exist within us and marketers are experts at exploiting them. Don’t let them.
2. Comparison is the thief of joy and confidence. Overcome it.
Most of our usage stems from comparison. We see someone else’s lifestyle, clothes, car, house, or vacation—and we begin to desire that for ourselves. Jealousy and envy are quick, especially if we don’t live intentionally with the resources we have.
But trying to live someone else’s life will always prevent you from being the best version of yourself. It will make you miss the unique good you can bring to this world. And it will keep you focused on what you don’t have rather than appreciating what you do have.
There is only one person who can live your life—only one person who has your story, your voice, your knowledge, your gifts, your love, your skills and your influence.
When we fill our homes and calendars trying to keep up with others, we rob the world of the one thing we have to offer: our true contribution.
Minimalism gives us the space to stop comparing and start contributing. And when we do, we find that we have much more to offer than consumers.
3. We live finite lives. Be intentional with them.
Time, energy, money, attention—these are not infinite resources. We all have different values of them, but each has limits and limitations.
Minimalism lives and dies by this fact. If money and time were infinite, it would make sense to accumulate as much as possible. But they are not limited. Our lives are limited. So what we choose to pursue and accumulate with them is very important.
Unfortunately, many of us live lives as if they have no limits.
We spend money on things we don’t need. We spend hours organizing closets full of things we don’t use. We constantly distract ourselves from social media and television. We sacrifice time with our loved ones for the sake of amassing wealth or power… and call it life.
Life is short. And if we are not careful, we can waste it by chasing useless things. As Seneca wrote (and which became the basis of my book,Important Items),“We are not given a short life but we make it short, and we are not provided with illness but we waste it… Life is long if you know how to use it.”
Simplicity has taught me to see all resources as precious: my hours, my dollars, my energy, even my life. And the more we invest them in things that matter, the more fulfilled we become.
4. You are more than what you have. Cry.
Culture has a way of making us believe things we know aren’t true.
For example, none of us, deep down, believe that our value is tied to what we have. But subtly, from childhood, we begin to look to those who have more. Magazine covers, movies, and television shows promote those who live in big houses, have nice clothes, have cool toys, or earn big salaries.
All lives are created equal. But for some reason, those who have more are put in the position—even when they don’t deserve it.
But a person’s worth is never tied to what they have. In fact, sometimes it is those who are least worthy of our admiration that gather the most. And those who are most worthy of being considered as role models are being considered.
Minimalism helped me remember again, and see with clear eyes, that our worth is not determined by the square footage of our home, the brand of our clothes, the gadgets on our shelf, or the car in our driveway.
You are important because of who you are—your heart, your soul, your ability to love, create, forgive, and make a difference. That is an important part of you. And no amount of shopping can change that.
5. Self-esteem is built by doing things that give us confidence. Not consumerism.
This last point, I have to admit, is not something I have learned by pursuing minimalism. Instead, it was learned during the creation of The Hope Effect (which was an effect of minimalism).
You are not very confident about buying something new. You don’t develop a stronger sense of purpose by improving your home decor. You don’t develop high self-esteem by eating too much.
Confidence grows when we align our actions with our values. When we do things that increase our self-esteem, we develop self-confidence. Confidence is not something we think we have. It is developed through our actions and decisions—when we help others, keep our promises, do difficult things, learn new skills, and show up to people.
Ironically, the more time we spend taking care of physical things, the less we can invest in habits that build our confidence. It’s hard to find time to volunteer at a nonprofit, when we spend our days driving from store to store.
Here’s the truth: we don’t need other things to make us feel better about ourselves. We need moreourselves-we are freed and fully engaged in activities that increase our self-esteem.
I have now written over 2,000 articles on Be A Minimalist. Those tens of thousands of hours spent encouraging others to have less and live more intentionally.
But underneath all the words there has always been this simple truth:You are important.
Your life holds value. Not because of what you have, but because of who you are.
The world will try to tell you otherwise. It will measure your value by overall value, productivity, or popularity. But those estimates are failing. They fade away. And they fail to account for the selfless goodness your life brings to others.
Minimalism isn’t just about getting rid of your stuff. It’s about making the space and focus to realize that your time, your attention, your values, and your story matter most.
So live with fewer distractions. Spend your limited resources on the things that matter. And never forget:
Your life is too precious to waste it chasing material things.
Spend it on something bigger.