Prejudices about the minimalist lifestyle

One day someone made me the following comment: "minimalism is nonsense. People with dreadlocks and a poor lifestyle, who don't even know how to combine shoes and a dress.» With two balls!

For that person, life was that: knowing how to combine shoes and a dress. The rest didn't matter. So We go through life, talking about what we don't know, filling the information gap with prejudices and the emotional gap with material things..

I felt a little hurt by that comment, however, I soon understood that this person said it to me with the intention of expressing his opinion, not mine.

We spend money we don't have on things we don't need to impress people who don't care about us.

Will Smith

The minimalist concept in society

When hearing the word MINIMALISM, many people get alarm bells. Yes minimalism is trendy, which applies to kitchens, iPhone designs and I don't know how many other things.

Minimalism may be all of those things, but let's not forget something more important:

Minimalism is a lifestyle, it is a way of seeing life.

Today I would like to talk to you about some prejudices that I have encountered along this path.

  1. Minimalism is living in scarcity

For some people, someone who is poor and therefore lives a life of scarcity, is someone who instead of having 10 pairs of pants has 2. Those types of people exist and although it seems extreme they think that way.

We have wrongly learned what it is to live well. The concept of quality of life has strayed into much more superficial and volatile topics. Society says that the more you have, the better: more clothes, more friends, a bigger house,….

It is very important to review our concept of luxury, of quality of life.

The fact being a minimalist does not mean that you live in decadence. Quite the opposite.

Since I follow a simpler lifestyle May I allow things that were not before my reach. Traveling, living where I want, buying what I really like and need, being able to invest in my education,...

Minimalism is living with what is necessary. Not with little, little is a word that has nothing to do with amounts. The little for me can be a lot for you.

May the little you have be as little as there is to give away.

Ricardo Arjona

Minimalists just try to find a balance between Both of you ends very common in our society, one of them is consumption of unnecessary things. Whether they are relationships, emotions, relationships or material objects.

  1. In minimalism there is a perfect number.

I have seen in some other article about the correct amounts that a person must have to call themselves a minimalist. Who has imposed that number? Or rather, who invented minimalism? Nobody.

And since no one invented it, minimalism is not about numbers, but about what makes us feel good, full, balanced.

Minimalism is a flexible lifestyle. Each one adapts it to their personal circumstances.

  1. Limits when buying what you want

In this case the chain effect is to blame for everything. Thinking that I can't buy this because I'm a minimalist is a mistake that we impose on ourselves.

Limitations have nothing to do with living simply, in fact there is no book that tells us what a minimalist should be like.

It's a lifestyle you can customize at your whim and as I said before, you can adapt it to you.

If you suffer from not being able to buy, then you are on the wrong path. Minimalism is reducing the clutter in our lives. Being aware of it looking to feel better.

  1. goodbye to your collections

Sometimes we ask ourselves the question, can I consider myself a minimalist if I collect coins? The answer is always yes. A collection that you like is the best thing in which you can invest your time, life is there to enjoy it.

If you like collecting coins and you enjoy it, you don't have to stop doing it.

As I said before, minimalism is not about numbers and if it were, we are free to break that rule... Thank goodness.

  1. They are stingy

Let's look for the definition of stingy in Google to see what it tells us:

Stingy: It is said of the person unwilling to spend money, and even gives up having basic comforts.

Apparently stingy is one who gives up even basic needs. The minimalist is the opposite. find what you likeae tries to enjoy those activities to the fullest. For this, it eliminates superfluous things to be able to Spend more time on these activities.

Let's not forget that things taken to the extreme can be harmful, not only with minimalism, with any activity in this life.

From my point of view, I think we have a misconception of happiness, we associate material abundance with happiness and fulfillment. Which can happen in many cases. But, it always is/has to be that way.

If happiness were having many things, most people would be happy. Even: most westerners would be happy.

Happiness is what you are, not what you have.

People who live a simplified life value other things and they are those things in which we invest more money.

  1. They don't spend on anything, not even what they like

In fact, it is the opposite. Minimalists may spend more than other people who are not. Difference: they invest in themselves and that is not noticeable with the naked eye.

I leave you a post where I talk about the priorities of a minimalist person.

No one appreciates in your dress the investment you have made in your brain and your self-esteem. Or in the tranquility of advancing your retirement to live in peace.

Not spending on anything is very relative and if someone ever tells you, ask them the following question: What is nothing to you?

  1. It's bad for the economy

Has someone ever said to me:It is that if we stop buying clothes the economy goes to waste ”. So literally.

Sometimes we do not know what life philosophies are about, we give our opinion without sufficient information and misunderstandings are generated that often lead to clichés.

Conclusion: a minimalist person does not stop consuming by following this lifestyle, stopping compulsive buying is a consequence. Become a more conscious user.

  1. You have to eat x thing or dress in neutral colors

This is the most widespread. The cliché: minimalists are vegans or live in a x way, they are from x countries,…

To end this post I want to say, with great respect and from my point of view: that minimalism is like a guide, a philosophy to apply in your life that is based on enjoying what gives us value.

This value has nothing to do with quantities, foods, religions, countries,... Minimalism is related to awareness and respect for everything that surrounds us.

Minimalism is love for your time and your being.

minimalism is a philosophy of life. It has no written rules and if there are, you have every right to break them.

Thanks so much for reading. A big hug.

And you, what prejudices have you encountered when talking about your lifestyle?

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