I used to go through life constantly looking for more. I used to believe that the ultimate solutions to my problems were in the next gadget, the next app, the next book, or the next pair of shoes. I constantly searched for what I could add.
Rarely did I consider what I could remove.
This sort of mindset is likely cultivated through a culture that urges me to consume. It tells me that I am not enough. That I must acquire and attain more. That I must become more.
But as long as you want more, you will never have enough. You will always be the seeker. Satisfaction will remain just out of reach.
This implicitly assumes that you are inadequate. That your life is insufficient. It’s a scarcity mentality that leads to an overwhelming sense of lack and dissatisfaction. See, when we search for what to add, we focus on what’s missing.
But minimalism has caused a radical shift in my mindset. I now come from a place of abundance. Rather than searching for what to add to my life, I carefully select what to take away. It’s a process. An art form.
These days I think of my life as a block of marble. I am the sculptor, carving out the excess to reveal the masterpiece underneath.
For me, minimalism is the art of subtraction.
It’s about chipping away the clutter, both inside and out, to reveal the essential. It brings about clarity by allowing us to see the beauty that remains. The beauty that was always there, but often covered.
The beauty that cannot be added, only discovered.
The realization that you are enough.