Everyone’s journey to minimalism is different. One size doesn’t fit all. One’s right may be someone else’s wrong. We’re all different and that’s okay.
My journey started ten years ago and like many humans, it was a result of excessive consumerism, identifying myself with items, non-stop buying, and finally having enough of my own BS. Well, that’s a story for another day. What I want to share today may most serve to those of you who are at the beginning of their journey. It’s the power of NO, having the courage to say no to oneself.
“If it’s not a hell YES, then it’s a NO”; I’m sure you heard this somewhere. It is the absolute trust of minimalism at its core. If you spend hours online looking for a certain item, or cannot decide between two items, or adding then removing an item in your cart back and forth…then it’s a NO. Trust me, it’s a NO. If you don’t trust me, then trust your own instinct, that beautiful gut feeling that’s preventing you from saying Hell YES. Deep down, you already have all the answers, and it is the true you that is telling you NO. Listen to it.
Experience is your best friend. Look around you and notice those things that took you hours to decide. How many of them are you truly enjoying today (considering you still have them!)? Don’t you wish you had chosen something else instead? Or did you need it to begin with?
Saying NO may be difficult in the beginning. It takes time and experience to truly enjoy and implement it. A certain level of discomfort is normal and is the very basis of change. To me, minimalism isn’t just consuming less and avoiding excess, but owning only high-quality, sustainable, purposeful and needed items at home that I use frequently and won’t need to replace for a long time. That said, avoiding dependance on things is another of the basics that goes hand in hand with discomfort. One should be able to look around and believe that one can live without any of it.
Next time when you hesitate, you cannot decide, try saying NO and give yourself a break. The feeling of freedom that comes with it is priceless and beautiful.