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December 12 - December 15, 2019
We are not our stuff. We are more than our possessions. Our memories are within us, not our things.
Our stuff weighs on us mentally and emotionally. Old photographs can be scanned. You can take pictures of items you want to remember. Items that are sentimental for us can be useful to others. Letting go is freeing.
The point is minimalism is a tool to help you achieve freedom. Freedom from fear, freedom from worry, freedom from overwhelm, freedom from guilt, freedom from depression, freedom from enslavement. Freedom. Real freedom.
Minimalism is a tool we use to live a meaningful life. There are no rules. Rather, minimalism is simply about stripping away the unnecessary things in your life so you can focus on what’s important.
Minimalists search for happiness not through things, but through life itself;
Minimalism is a tool to eliminate life’s excess, focus on the essentials, and find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.
Happiness, as far as we are concerned, is achieved internally through living a meaningful life, a life that is filled with passion and freedom, a life in which we can grow and contribute to others in meaningful ways. These are the bedrocks of happiness. Not stuff.
we discovered Five Values that allow us to live a meaningful life: 1. Health 2. Relationships 3. Passions 4. Growth 5. Contribution
In its simplest terms, there are two main ingredients of living a healthy life: eating and exercising.
Meaningful relationships have eight main elements that must be nurtured for the relationships to grow and improve: love, trust, honesty, caring, support, attention, authenticity, and understanding.
Once you acknowledge your vocation is who you are, it’s extraordinarily difficult to do something else.
When you’re trapped in this kind of identity, it’s hard to realize you are not your job, you are not your stuff, you are not your debt, you are not your paycheck—you are so much more.
Getting outside your comfort zone is an important part of growth.
the key to real growth is consistency. Consistent, gradual action taken every day is the way we changed our lives.
That is, finding ways to transform the positive experiences you dislike into positive experiences you enjoy is the ticket to changing your life long-term. This one strategy is the ticket to long-term happiness, fulfillment, and a life with meaning.
It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance. —EPICTETUS
