Joshua Becker's Blog, page 42

10 Rules for Using Social Media Intentionally

Social media can be a wonderful thing. It allows us to stay in touch with friends, interact with people around the world, grow in our passions, and even make a difference in the world.

However, it can also become a distraction that keeps us from living our best life. Social media can also lead to anxiety, depression, and broken relationships.

Amazing potential… or dire consequences.

Personally, I’ve been using social media to spread the inspiration of minimalism and intentional living for over ten years. And along the way, I’ve developed ten rules to help me use social media in an intentional way and keep it from becoming too much of a distraction.

Maybe you’ll find them helpful.

10 Rules for Using Social Media Intentionally1. Jump in, jump out.

It was Leo Babauta who first used the illustration of a river to describe social media.

Jump in, enjoy the water, and then jump out.

When you jump into a river, you don’t try to catch up with all the water downstream that passed by before you got there. You just enjoy the water rushing over you at the time.

Don’t feel like you need to endlessly scroll trying to catch up with everything that happened or was posted when you were offline. Just enjoy the conversation right in front of you—and then jump out. Set wise boundaries.

2. Create, don’t just consume.

Our time on social media (or the Internet in general) can be used to consume or create.

We can watch endless Tik-Tok videos or scroll through countless photos—all while the hours tick by. (consume)

Or we can use social media to encourage friends, post inspiring quotes, share exciting news, write positive messages, or engage in healthy conversation. (create)

Be a contributor online. Not just a consumer.

3. Use social media platforms you enjoy.

New social media platforms emerge all the time and for different reasons. Over the years, I’ve seen quite a few come, and quite a few go. Some platforms get popular for a while, and then quickly fade into ghost towns. Others become popular and remain there.

If you want to use social media intentionally, use the social media platforms that you enjoy the most. Sometimes, especially when people want to use social media for business purposes, they try to be on every platform. Some experts even encourage it.

But you’ll be more effective if you use the platforms you actually enjoy. Stick to those.

*If you are a parent of a child on social media, I do encourage you to know the different social media outlets that your kids are using and be familiar with them. But being familiar with a platform is different than using it frequently.  

4. Change the culture of social media, don’t be changed by it.

There are a lot of unhealthy activities on social media: divisiveness, arrogance, bullying, jealousy, insults, one-upsmanship, trolling, misinformation… just to name a few.

You can feed into that culture by taking part in the filth… or you can work to create a new culture on social media. The fourth rule to use social media intentionally is to change the culture rather than being changed by it.

Work to change social media? Yes. Bring positivity to it rather than participating in the negativity.

Will you change the entire platform by acting differently? No, but you will change the experience for a few people around you, and maybe they’ll change the experience for others around them, and maybe they’ll…

5. Take an extended break every two years to evaluate your usage.

Take one month off, every two years, from social media entirely. The time away will help you evaluate how social media has been influencing you (positive or negative) and allow you to make important adjustments if you’ve allowed it to take over too much of your life.

*If social media is required for your work, limit your usage to only work-related activities for that month.

6. Don’t compare your worst to their best.

Steven Bartlett once said, “Trust me. Nobody is as successful as Instagram makes them look and nobody is as pretty as filters make them seem. The only healthy and worthwhile comparison is you yesterday vs you today. Focus on that.”

Remember, everybody is painting a picture on social media of what they want you to think their life looks like. But nobody is posting about their lowest moments. And nobody is posting photos of themselves eating potato chips all alone in front of the television—they wait until they are out to eat to take pictures of their food.

Meanwhile, you see every aspect of yourself: the highs, the lows, the good, the bad, and the downright unattractive. Don’t fall into the trap of comparing your worst moments to their best on social media.

7. If you’re following news, read more than headlines.

News headlines by every major media outlet (and most minor ones) are split-tested on social media to see which headline gets the most clicks and drives the most traffic to their website. Even here on Becoming Minimalist, while I don’t test different headlines, I do try to choose headlines that people will find interesting.

If you get your news from social media, never judge a current event by the headline alone. You often need the entire story (even from different angles) to know the full story.

Equally, don’t just trust what one person says about a current event without looking up the information yourself. Not every summary you read online is true.

If you’re following news, read the entire article, not just the headline.

8. Keep the same standards online as you do in-person.

The adage of “it’s easy to hide behind a keyboard and type out insults to strangers on the Internet” is entirely true. I realize it didn’t just start with the Internet. Before social media, people were sending anonymous letters to the editor, I’m sure.

But social media has made it easier for everyone to hide behind a keyboard and act in a way online that they would never act in-person. Or, at the very least, it’s become easy to say things to people through a screen that we’d never say to them in person.

Act the same way online as you want people to remember you offline. Keep your integrity and honesty both offline and online. Remain consistent and kind. Contribute substance to the conversation.

9. Seek to understand those with different opinions.

The world is a big place, so is social media where almost the entire world is represented. The town square of social media includes people from nearly every background and experience in life.

See it as an opportunity to learn from others rather than needing to convince everyone you are right all the time. You may be right, but can still learn a lot from others by seeking to understand how they arrived at the opinion they hold.

10. Privacy is still nice. Keep some.

There’s still something to be said about personal privacy. Share your life with others online, sure. But keep some privacy among the people you hold closest. Not everything you do has to be broadcast to the world.

I work hard to live by these ten rules for social media.

I encourage you to do the same and discover a more positive approach to social media (and the Internet in general).

And of course, never let social media take precedence over the relationships right in front of you.

How to Distinguish Yourself

Years ago, my friend received a promotion at work. When his promotion was announced, the CEO explained it like this, “He has distinguished himself among his peers, we are promoting him to a new position.”

It was a sentence I have never forgotten. “He has distinguished himself.”

To me, it sounded like one of the greatest compliments anyone could receive: to distinguish yourself among your peers.

Distinguished is a word of respect that we tend to use when speaking in positive terms: a distinguished gentleman, a distinguished career, a distinguished painter.

For many, it conjures up images of a sharply dressed, handsome man. But that is not the definition of the word—nor is that how I defined the compliment.

The definition is much broader: respectable, perceived as a difference in, marked by excellence, set apart.

To stand out as different, in a good way, from everyone else—that is the definition of distinguished.

And that is a description I am drawn to. I hope when people look at my life and how I lived, they will say, “He lived differently than the world around him. He distinguished himself by the way he lived each day.”

This is a description I think we all should strive for.

But how can it be true of yourself?

You certainly don’t need money, a fancy suit, a powerful position, or a role in the public eye to be considered distinguished. My friend didn’t have any of those things. No matter where you are or what you do, you can set yourself apart. 

Here are 8 ways to distinguish yourself from the world around you:

1. Be faithful with a little.

With whatever you have been given, be faithful and disciplined with it. With your money, your body, your talents, your education, your upbringing, your opportunity, or your position, be faithful and disciplined to make the most of everything at your disposal.

Not everyone is faithful with the gifts they have been given. Some squander them, still others spend their lives wishing for a different lot. You can distinguish yourself by being faithful with all that you’ve been given or earned.

2. Choose to live differently.

Indeed, to live set apart, is in the very definition of the word distinguished. But this will never become a reality in your life until you choose to live a life different than society.

Following the crowd is what everyone else is doing. And I’m not sure it’s leading to as much joy and fulfillment as people believe. It’s certainly not going to result in a life that stands out from the crowd.

3. Remain focused.

This world is full of distractions from things that matter. These distractions are not just advertisements, social media, and 24-hour breaking news. Many of the pursuits most common to humankind (money, power, fame, possessions) are only distractions from the pursuits in life that are most important.

To distinguish yourself from the crowd, remove trivial distractions today. Keep your attention and life focused on things that matter. And then, do it all again tomorrow.

4. Live humble.

You can waste a lot of words and energy trying to convince people you are someone important. Instead, put your head down, do good work, and run the race set in front of you.

Not only will you accomplish more along the way, but your humility will also distinguish you from the crowd. It always does.

5. Include others in your growth.

The quickest way to succeed in life is to help someone else succeed in theirs. Unfortunately, most of the world does not live this way. They seek personal success for themselves and often see the world as a competition to get to the top first.

To stand out from the crowd, include others in your growth and success. Share your gifts and talents and accomplishments. Mentor others. Compete less, encourage more.

6. Show grace to others.

Those who routinely extend grace, patience, and kindness to others distinguish themselves in a crowded world. No doubt those who have shown grace and kindness to you stick out in your mind.

To accomplish this, remind yourself often that this world is largely unfair, that people come from a variety of backgrounds, and that nobody is truly self-made… even you. This approach to life always results in humbleness, graciousness, patience, and love.

7. Appreciate different opinions.

While there is nothing wrong with being dogmatic in your beliefs, a healthy appreciation of how others came to theirs is seemingly, an underappreciated quality these days.

By appreciating different opinions, we grow in our understanding of the world and the people around us. And seeking to learn from others, rather than trying to convince them of your opinion, will make you stand out from the crowd today more than ever.

8. Bring optimism into every day.

Greet each day and each person you meet with a smile. Remind yourself each morning that every new day is an opportunity to be your best and make a difference in the life of another. The more you see each day as opportunity, the greater your outlook will be.

And the more optimism you bring into each day, the more that optimism will spill out into the lives of others. Smile more, scowl less. Be noticed for your joy and excitement for life and living your best one.

Live a life that is respectable, different, excellent, and set apart from the world around you. Be distinguished.

Inspiring Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

For the last eight years, I have been compiling and publishing curated articles that inspire simplicity. At first, it was an exercise in communicating to Becoming Minimalist readers the most popular articles I sent out on Twitter.

But over the years, it has become more than that. It has become a place where people (every other week) come for a dose of inspiration. And it has become a place to promote and encourage writers around the world who are publishing content about minimalism, simplicity, and intentional living.

I think you will enjoy this collection of articles hand-selected for you this weekend. Grab some coffee, tea, or lemonade and be inspired to live a simpler life today.

Psychological ‘specialness spirals’ can make ordinary items feel like treasures – and may explain how clutter accumulates | The Conversation by Jacqueline Rifkin. The longer you hold off on using an everyday purchase, the more likely you are to preserve it untouched.

The World Prefers a Calm Life to an Exciting Life | Gallup by Steve Crabtree and Alden Lai. The preference for a calm life is one of the most consistent findings from this new study.

Is Minimalism Over? …or is it Ramping Up For a Major Resurgence? | Meg Nordmann by Meg Nordmann. As we “tighten our belts” and attempt to make our homes/offices a place where we can find peace or focus, I think minimalism is ripe for a second wave of new adopters.

5 Myths About Minimalism Everyone Seems to Believe | Mind Cafe by
Megan Holstein. So many people are put off by minimalism because they believe myths about minimalism.

10 Ways to Bring More Calm into Your Home | Becoming Minimalist on YouTube. Your home should be the antidote to stress. It ought to be a place of rest, respite, and relaxation, so we can live our best lives out in the world making the biggest difference that we possibly can.

It’s Better to Live Cheap Under Budget than Luxuriously in Debt

There are two ways to live life:

1. We can live in a way that we spend less than we make.

2. Or we can live in a way that spends more than we make.

I suppose you could argue there is a third way: Spend exactly the same amount as you make. And that may be true, but unexpected emergencies happen all the time. Spending exactly the same as you make only lasts until your next financial emergency—and then you’ll find yourself squarely in the second group.

It would seem, looking at the options, most people would choose the first. The stress of constantly living in debt, of constantly being held hostage to your past, of even living with a sense of fear or panic is a way of life that nobody desires.

Spending less than we make is the option people would rationally choose. But most of us don’t.

In fact, roughly 60% of us spend more than we make.

Here are the statistics:

60% of Americans could not pay for a $1,000 emergency expense.

77% of Americans report feeling anxious about their financial situation. 

And the numbers are only getting worse.

Why is that? Why is a life with less stress and worry so difficult for so many of us to attain?

Why do most people choose to outspend their income?

There are some who will argue that the system is rigged and it is simply impossible to make enough money to live within your means. Of course that may be the reality for some, but it’s certainly not the reason for most. And most importantly, it’s likely not the reason for your choices.

More likely, the reason so many choose to live a life outspending their income is because messaging and marketers are constantly telling us that we’re missing out by not spending more money.

Consider this: you can’t turn anywhere inside a civilized society (nature may be the only exception) without being bombarded with advertisements promising a better life than you’re living… if, and only if, you are willing to spend to get it.

We’re promised a better life by spending more with almost every turn of our head.

The promise is so ingrained in our subconscious, from the moment we are born, that we subtly and unintentionally fall into the trap.

An increasing income doesn’t quench the desire. Offers for a better life only grow with our income… nicer cars, bigger houses, fancier meals, more luxurious vacations… the temptation to overspend never, ever ends.

The promise of a better life always lies just outside our current income. So we chase it, endlessly—always spending just a bit more than we have.

But it is better to live cheap under budget than to live luxuriously in debt.

Living within your means results in a self-satisfaction that cannot be purchased at a department store.

It results in a restful calm at the end of the day that can never be experienced at the fanciest hotel.

It results in a genuine self-confidence that can never be purchased on a clothing rack.

It results in an ever-present enjoyment that can not be duplicated with a fancy vacation.

It results in an example for your family that can never be purchased with self-help courses.

And it results in a life well-lived with fewer regrets.

The world will tell you spending more is the key to a better life.

But I can attest, it is better to live cheap under budget, than it is to live luxuriously in debt.

You Can’t Change Your Life until You Change Your Life

Do you want a change in life?

Not everyone does, but some do. And if you are one of those people looking for change, this post is for you.

Maybe you feel stuck, or in a rut, or just discontent believing there is a bigger and better life available to you.

I don’t know exactly why you are desiring a change, or how big of a change you are looking for, but if you can be living a more intentional life, it would be a shame for you to miss it.

If you are desiring a change, there is one truth that cannot be escaped:

You can’t change your life until you change your life.

Repeating the same life tomorrow as the life you lived yesterday will only result in the same life you are living today. So if you are yearning for a change, something needs to change.

You probably already know this to be true.

The problem isn’t that we don’t know we need a change in our daily life or habits, the problem is that we don’t know where to start or the change appears too big to accomplish. We often believe that everything needs to change and the thought begins to overwhelm us. So we stick to the status quo, discontented with the trajectory of our lives.

But you don’t need to change everything to change something. In fact, changing anything has the power, in the long run, to bring about the bigger changes you desire—whatever those might be.

If you want to change your life, choose just one new, healthy habit to begin tomorrow. (It doesn’t even have to be intimately connected to the problem you are hoping to solve.) Choose one change to your life—and then stick to it. Everybody can change something.

Intentionality spurs intentionality. And when you become intentional in one area of life, the positive effects always spill over into other areas of life. Small changes become big changes over time.

So:

Wake up early.
Exercise.
Eat healthier.
Give up alcohol.
Turn off the television.
Write in a journal every day.
Meditate.
Declutter your home.
Play music.
Create art.
Or stick to a budget.

Pick just one new habit and get started with it tomorrow.

You’ll be surprised how implementing just one positive change opens your life and mind to other positive changes.

Everything doesn’t have to change in one day.

But you can’t change your life until you change your life.

You need to start somewhere.

5 Steps to an Unburdened Life

Note: This is a guest post from Allie Casazza, author of Declutter Like a Mother.

If you’ve ever watched the reality show Hoarders, you probably wouldn’t question that the owners of those homes have real inner issues that have manifested in their physical spaces. Their homes are chaotic because their inner world is in turmoil. And vice versa—their inner world is in turmoil because their homes are chaotic.

I’m not pointing fingers in pity or disgust because less than ten years ago, my own world was in a constant state of chaos. My home wasn’t necessarily Hoarder-level, but it was overwhelming. I was overwhelmed.

Unnecessary and even useless items filled our home, and I didn’t have the mental clarity to sort through the clutter. The mess led me to feel even more anxiety, which led me to allow more things to take up space in my home, which led me to feel even more stressed out. It was an endless cycle.

I was barely a fraction of the woman I knew I could be. I wanted to live without the burden of physical and mental clutter. I wanted to have the white space in my home, calendar, and mind to pursue my dreams, passions, and goals. It was figuring out how to do that that kept tripping me up.

I didn’t give up, though; I figured it out. And today, I’m living life unburdened by mental and physical clutter, and I’ve built a business teaching other women how to do the same.

One of the biggest weapons against overwhelm in your life is to declutter not only your physical space, but what weighs heavy in your life.

Clutter can be physical items; it can also be metaphorical. It can show up in your calendar, your mind, even your heart.

How you are with one thing is how you are with everything, so it makes sense that when we have clutter in one place, it echoes in the others. But how do we get rid of clutter, both physical and metaphorical?

Maya Angelou famously said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”

I believe knowledge is power, so in the spirit of self-empowerment, allow me to give you five steps to move you from overwhelmed to unburdened:

1. Clear the clutter.

Clutter is simply unmade decisions. When you look at it like that, it can seem kind of silly that you have so much stuff taking up space in your home. You make hundreds of decisions every single day. You should be a pro at this, right?

Well, yes and no. Decisions can be conscious or unconscious, and most of the time, we live life on autopilot, not really even thinking about the decisions we’re making.

But when we’re not aware of our choices, it can cause us to lack the confidence we need to decide whether we want to keep great aunt Ida’s hand-painted vase (that we kind of hate) for future generations or if we want to give it away to someone who will cherish it more than we will.

On the other hand, when we make conscious decisions all day long, that can lead to decision fatigue. Decision fatigue is an actual, scientific condition where your brain is so tired from choosing all day that it cannot make another quality decision.

So, what do you do? Start in the bathroom. That room is usually full of easy yes or no items. Set a timer for thirty minutes, go in there, and start sorting. As you make more of these easy decisions, you’ll gain the confidence you need to move on to more significant items.

2. Rewrite limiting beliefs.

A limiting belief is exactly what it sounds like: a belief that limits you and keeps you from moving forward in life. If you think there isn’t enough to go around, you will live out that thought. You will hoard your possessions, time, and energy out of fear that you won’t have what you need when you need it. But if you rewrite that thought and you live out of the belief that there is more than enough, you will live a life of generosity toward yourself and others.

Limiting beliefs don’t have to keep you stuck. You can rewrite them. Remember, you’re in control of your thoughts and beliefs. If you don’t like something, you can change it.

3. Stop playing the victim and take ownership of your life.

Just like you are in charge of your thoughts, you are also in control of your life. If you live as if circumstances and situations are constantly happening to you, then you will continuously live as a victim.

But you are more. You are an action-taker and a problem-solver. You are the CEO of your life. Does the CEO of a company react to every problem thrown her way? No, she responds.

Instead of reacting (probably negatively) to all the balls life throws at you, you need to live in response mode, ready to identify root problems and brain-dump solutions.

4. Live with intention.

There is a Proverb that says, “Where there is no vision the people perish.” I love it because it’s rung so true in my life. If you don’t have anywhere to go, you won’t go anywhere at all.

I have a simple little question that I ask myself whenever I want to figure out what it is I want from life, whether in my marriage, my motherhood, my career, from my body, and that question is: wouldn’t it be cool if…?

Wouldn’t it be cool if I had my own business? Wouldn’t it be cool if we had another baby? Wouldn’t it be cool if we moved across the country? Wouldn’t it be cool if I went totally plant-based in my diet?

Play around with that question and see where it leads you. See what vision it gives you for your future. Then, start brainstorming how you can turn your vision into your reality.

5. Set boundaries.

If we don’t learn to set boundaries, we’re only hurting ourselves. Saying no can be hard, but it is a gift to yourself and to the people who mean the most to you. Protecting your time, energy, space, and mental health isn’t selfish. Bitterly living your life obligated to other people and activities is selfish because you cannot give your best self to the world.

It’s not easy, but you can do hard things. Set boundaries around your time and energy. Put them in your relationships. Set them in your calendar. Learn to say no to certain things so you can say yes to the most important things.

***

Allie Casazza is on a mission to eradicate the “hot mess mom” stereotype by empowering other women. She is the author of the new book, Declutter Like a Mother. She is also the host of The Purpose Show podcast.

Encouraging Simplicity. Weekend Reads.

Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of anything that distracts us from it. It requires a conscious decision because it is a countercultural lifestyle that stands against the culture of overconsumption that surrounds us.

The world we live in is not friendly to the pursuit of minimalism. Its tendencies and relentless advertising campaigns call us to acquire more, better, faster, and newer. The journey of finding simplicity requires consistent inspiration.

For that reason, I hope you will make an effort this weekend to find a quiet moment with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy some of these hand-picked articles to encourage more simplicity in your life.

10 Effortless Things That Clutter-Free People Do Every Day | Reader’s Digest by Marissa Laliberte. Keeping daily messes to a minimum makes chore day so much easier.

What I Learned from Living Five Years in a Van | The Guardian by Stevie Trujillo. I was kicked out of corporate America after the economic crisis – but I learned to find joy and meaning in a life on the road.

‘Tiny House’ Instagram Accounts Are The Late-Night Balm To My Pandemic Stress | Yahoo! by Wendy Wisner. That’s the thing: the tiny house movement is all about simple living, and getting as much bang for your buck as possible. Many of the people who live in them are able to survive on less money, work less, and live close to nature.

Choosing Rest | No Sidebar by Julia Ubbenga. We were never made to live in constant motion, yet so many of us live as though we were.

Will Minimalism Crash the Economy? | Becoming Minimalist on YouTube

—

Uncluttered. If you’re looking for help trying to minimize your possessions, my 12-week course will help you own less, live more, and discover the life you want. Registrations ends this Sunday, September 19. The experience begins on Tuesday.

Create a Home with Less Stress. Get Uncluttered.

“Your home should be the antidote to stress, not the cause of it.” – Peter Walsh

Now, more than ever, your home should be exactly how you want it. Not filled with clutter. Not filled with excess obligation. But a home that serves you and your purpose.

If you are ready to declutter your home once and for all, join me for Uncluttered. The 12-week course is one of the most important things I do and may be one of the most important things you ever do too.

I have seen it transform countless lives. And if you need some personalized help and motivation to own less, it can transform your life as well.

Here is how Caryn Seney summed up her experience, “I have significantly less stress in my life and more self-control. Most importantly, I’m becoming more like the mom and wife I want to be.”

Uncluttered

Uncluttered is a 12-week online course designed intentionally to help you own less, live more, and discover the life you’ve always wanted. I am involved with the course every day during the 12 weeks, working to make sure everyone is successful in owning less (however they define that for themselves).

I offer the course only three times each year. Registration is now open for the Fall Edition, but registration ends on Sunday, September 19.

If you want this to be the season you declutter your home, own less, and get ahead financially, this is for you. If you’ve tried books and articles and videos, but know that you need something more, I created Uncluttered for you.

I know that some people can read one article about minimalism, and that’s all they need to get started. But over the years, I have met lots of people and personality types who need more than an article or book. So I created this course—to help people who needed more.

The course includes…

Videos with step-by-step instructionsInterviews with thought leaders in productivity and minimalismLive webinars tackling specific tough-clutter topicsLive Q&As with me to ask specific questionsWeekly challengesA private Facebook group* to ask your questions and get them answered (*not required)And perhaps best of all: accountability and encouragement from a super-engaged community.

Uncluttered will provide just the motivation you need to declutter your home and start living a better life. By the end, you will have decluttered every major living area in your home, got all your decluttering questions answered, and even begun changing your spending habits as we also focus on overcoming consumerism during the 12 weeks.

Every Monday, you will receive a video from me, an exclusive interview with one of the brightest minds in the simplicity movement, and/or written content prepared exclusively for the course. You will receive a weekly challenge to complete. You will also have opportunities to engage with others in a private Facebook group and with me during live webinars and live question and answer opportunities.

The course offers everything a book or blog post cannot: community, accountability, and opportunity to ask questions.

The Uncluttered plan will help you celebrate your progress as it provides helpful answers on where to start and how to stay motivated.

To find more information about the content and the subjects covered, click here.

Extra Tools to Get Your Family On Board

I’ve also created special material for those of you with families.

Because of the high number of people with families who register for the course, we have included a special family-specific section with tips and strategies for getting your family and kids onboard with the process. The new section includes a family-specific webinar to answer your questions, a digital version of my book Clutterfree with Kids, a free Children’s ebook to read with your kids, and a Couple’s Discussion Guide to spark conversation with your spouse or partner.

I also provide a video tour of my home during the course to help you see how we specifically navigate a clutterfree home with two kids.

I want you to be successful during the 12-week course and I am confident these resources will help you do that. Additionally, everyone who signs up has lifetime access to the course materials and can take it as many times as they want/need for free after signing up the first time.

The Results

Over 60,000 people have gone through the course. Here are just a few of the reviews:

The term life-changing gets thrown around a lot, but this course really is. I went into it with a lot of shame and anxiety. Joshua gently guided us in a way that made lasting change seem possible. My home is much improved, but my mindset is also clearer. —Kathryn Wagner, Los Angeles, CA

The power of this shared experience is hard to explain to people, it is so overwhelmingly positive. It not only provides the incentive to keep going, but reminds you there are good people out there. You find yourself rooting for complete strangers. Together, there is a momentum that drives you through the course. It was completely unexpected and so overwhelmingly helpful. —Tanya S, Webster, NY

I am a better mother, a better wife, a better housekeeper, a better budgeter, a better teacher, a better neighbor and a better friend. I’m still a work in progress, but it feels good to be where I am at. —Pam L.

My credit card statement came today. $1,000.00 under my typical monthly balance! Thank you Uncluttered community. I’ve been at this for years; however, it’s clear I truly needed this group to get to that next level. —Cheyanne Morris, St. Paul, MN

The Details

We offer the course three times each year.

The Fall Edition begins on Tuesday, September 21 so you can declutter your home before the holidays. Registration is open now, but only for the next 7 days — ending September 19.

The cost is $89 (USD). But you can find a 25% off discount code in the back of The More of Less or The Minimalist Home. Neither book is required for the course. But it’s usually cheaper to buy the book and use the discount code than it is to pay full price—the option is yours.

*FYI: This is the last time I will be offering the course for $89. The price will increase in 2022.

I am personally involved in every aspect of the course. Helping people live more by owning less is what I am passionate about. I created the videos and the content. I host the webinars. I answer questions in the Facebook group. And I host live video chats over the course of the 12 weeks. My goal is to help and cheer you along. I have come to understand how essential community, accountability, and ongoing encouragement is for people. And I work hard to craft that positive culture for the Uncluttered Course. 

When you join Uncluttered, you’ll receive lifetime access to the course. That means you can take it as many times as you want (or need). I know life can be busy, and the unexpected can happen at any time. But we’re here to help you succeed. And if you ever want to do the course again, or just enjoy a decluttering refresher, you’ll be welcomed back.

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Uncluttered is a 12-week online program with videos, interviews, webinars, articles, weekly challenges, accountability, and community. It is strategically packaged for one purpose: To help you unclutter your home, own less stuff, and find space to live the life you want.

Visit My Becoming Minimalist to register.

Make this the season you discover the home and life you’ve always wanted.

The World Belongs to Those Who Hustle

“The world belongs to those who hustle” is the mantra of our day.

Rush, push, work harder.

Persist, fight, and claw to the top.

If you work hard and hustle more, you can own the world.

Our media is full of advice encouraging us to hustle, hustle, and hustle some more.

Here are just a few titles ripped from recent headlines:  

3 Steps to ‘Hustling’ for Success (Time Magazine)Hustle as Strategy (Harvard Business Review)10 Habits Of Highly Successful Hustlers (LifeHack)The 6 Best Ways to become Rich (Yahoo!)

We post hustle quotes as inspiration on our social media feeds and posters in our workplaces. The Internet boasts thousands of them:

Hustle until your haters ask if you’re hiring.Good things happen to those who hustle.Hustle like you’re broke and keep that passion.Hustle until you no longer need to introduce yourself.Don’t stay in bed unless you can make money in bed.

You can even buy a “Hu$tle t-shirt” if you want.

I don’t disagree with the adage. No doubt, those who hustle will end up owning the world.

I’m just not sure the world is what I most want to own.

What does it benefit a person to gain the entire world, but lose themselves along the way?

Some of the greatest blessings in life cannot be experienced if our lives are constantly filled with hustle chasing after the world.

In fact, many of the most important pursuits of our lives require us to stop “hustling.” They require quiet, peace, solitude, even rest.

Becoming the best version of ourselves will always require less hustle. The pathway to bettering ourselves and our souls requires meditation, solitude, and drawing away from the world around us.

Becoming a present and intentional parent (and/or spouse) requires less hustle. The requirements are listening ears, quality time, and focused attention.

Becoming a selfless and giving difference-maker in your community requires empathy, compassion, attentive eyes, and frequent conversation.

Even becoming a leader worthy of admiration requires patience, thoughtfulness, and willingness to serve.

I encourage you to work hard. We should all be using our talents and gifts to make a difference in the world.

But for those who are tempted to lose their soul through hustle in a relentless desire to gain the world, you are making an unwise trade.

There is great reward to be found in more stillness… and less hustle.

Defining Success Differently

I think all of society (ourselves included) would benefit if we started defining success differently:

Rather than defining success by the brand of clothing we can afford, may we find it in the number of people we have helped to clothe.

Rather than defining success by the amount of money in our bank account, may we find it in how much we used to help others.

Rather than defining success by the size of our house, may we find it in the amount of love that was shown there.

Rather than defining success by our level of education, may we find it in the degree of our integrity.

Rather than defining success by the number of ‘likes’ on our Instagram post, may we find it in how edifying and encouraging that post was to others.

Rather than defining success by the type of car that we drive, may we find it in those we have picked up in life and set down on a better road.

Rather than defining success by how loud our voice is, may we find it in how often we spoke up for those without one.

Rather than defining success in the quality and quantity of our personal possessions, may we find it in the level of selflessness we have shown to others.

Rather than defining success in the number of people who love us, may we find it in the number of people we have loved.