Minimalism during the coronavirus pandemic

I started my minimalist journey during the pandemic. It was my 2021 new year's resolution. So I've only experienced minimalism in a world where the coronavirus has existed. I don't know if that's made it easier or harder to be a minimalist, but here is my personal experience with minimalism during the coronavirus pandemic.

1. Minimalist socializing
2. Minimalist germ control at home
3. Minimalist personal protective equipment
4. Minimalist food and travel

1. Minimalist socializing

I'm a low-key germaphobe, something that started long before this plague hit us. But I don't mind because it's served me well so far, despite this virus becoming more and more contagious and more people around us getting sick for the first (or second) time. My partner goes along with whatever I recommend, both to keep my anxiety to a minimum and also because they don't want to get sick. 

We are vaccinated and boosted, and although there is no mask mandate in place where we live, we still continue to wear masks in public, even outdoors if we're in crowds. We practice social isolation (meaning, we have not attended or hosted any social gatherings). We don't even take our masks off when we see family or friends, which is only ever done outside. 

Even before the pandemic I would prefer taking a walk in the forest, crafting, watching a movie at home, or reading a book over things like concerts, parties, or anywhere there are large crowds. My partner is good with a TV and their phone to play games on.

Having done this for over 2 years now, it really isn't a bother and is just something that's part of our lives. We can do this indefinitely and it wouldn't really inconvenience us in any way. I guess if you're a really social or extroverted person, then maybe the social isolation is challenging to you. But for 2 introverted homebodies, it's just fine. =)

2. Minimalist germ control at home

In general, I consider our apartment to be the "clean" zone and anything past our threshold is the "contaminated" zone. That means anything that comes through our door is either removed upon entering and set in an area by the door where it won't spread any contamination (shoes, backpacks, reusable grocery bags) or sanitized/washed before being used (containers holding food, face masks, unpackaged produce, clothes).

My routine after I've returned home and closed the door behind me is:

1. Take off my mask and outside shoes
2. Sanitize my phone and and put away anything I've brought home with me
3. Take off outside clothes (before sitting on any soft surfaces like bed or sofa) and change into inside clothes
4. Wash hands and face, maybe take a shower depending on circumstances 

If you're like me and have a lot of anxiety about the pandemic, I find that sticking to this routine helps calm me and make me feel like I at least have some control over what's happening.

3. Minimalist personal protective equipment

As I've mentioned before, I love to sew and took it upon myself to make fabric masks for myself and others out of old pillowcases and sheets. We have plenty to last us until each laundry day.

Disclaimer: This next part is my personal opinion based on some research I've done. I'm not a healthcare provider or an expert on infectious disease, so please don't treat this information as if I am! 

I know there's a recommendation to use those paper N95 and KN95 masks, but I see people wearing those all the time and they don't fit properly on their faces. 

These masks were meant for healthcare and if you are told you need to wear them in a healthcare setting, someone who knows what they're doing fits the proper size to your face and shows you how to make sure you're wearing it correctly. If there are any gaps between the edge of the mask and your face, then it's ineffective. 

So, we use fabric masks, with at least 2-3 layers of fabric, and stay at least 6 feet from people, especially if they're unmasked or we're indoors. It isn't a perfect solution, but it feels more minimalist to us than buying and throwing away disposable masks. It saves us so much money on paper masks as well!

We also keep hand sanitizer in our car. It's an old travel-size bottle that we refill from a larger container at home. It stays in the glove box and it's routine that anytime we get in the car, we use the sanitizer before we drive away.

We choose not to wear disposable gloves for the same reason we don't use paper masks. Too much expense and waste, and I'm not really sure it's worth it outside of a healthcare setting.

4. Minimalist food and travel

We do occasionally get takeout and even more rarely, we eat at a restaurant if there's outside seating and it isn't crowded. It saves us so much money to cook at home! Even with 2 of us, eating whole-foods, plant-based costs only $30-50 per week in groceries. Actually less because that bill includes things like toilet paper and cleaning supplies.

As for travel, we just haven't done it, other than that one trip while the house was up for sale. I hadn't taken a vacation for 5 years before that and probably about the same for my partner. I don't feel comfortable going on planes, trains, or cruises right now, so if we do any more trips it will be in our car.

We're going through a heat wave right now in our area, and I'm getting pretty worn out by the high temperatures. We might do a little getaway; if so, I can talk more about minimalist travel.

Well, that covers the basics. I'm sure everyone already knows most of this stuff, but I thought, why not do this now, when these new mutations are putting us even more at risk? Stay safe and healthy, everyone!

What is extreme minimalism?

How is extreme minimalism different from other types of minimalism? I decided to do this as a separate post from my last post about anti-mainstream minimalist concepts because there are so many different aspects of extreme minimalism. This topic needs an article of its own! 

What I find interesting is that when I looked into extreme minimalism, I think there are a lot of misconceptions about it. But I'll get into that in a little bit. Here is the run-down of topics:

1. What does extreme minimalism mean?
2. Examples of extreme minimalism
3. Misconceptions about extreme minimalism
4. The benefits of extreme minimalism
5. Is extreme minimalism selfish?

What does extreme minimalism mean?

Just as a refresher, "minimalism," as defined by this blog's original owner, means letting go of things that are less important--whether it be things, activities, or people--to focus on what's more important.

In contrast, extreme minimalism is about paring your life down to the necessities. Some people may refer to it as essential minimalism, or essentialism, which is evaluating wants and needs, with a preference towards only acquiring what you need. If you want more details about essential minimalism, we have a post all about it here.

Examples of extreme minimalism

Besides essentialism, there are several examples of minimalist archetypes that can fall under extreme minimalism. For one, there are types of experiential minimalists called nomadic minimalists (the article goes into some detail about minimalist nomad life). 

I also recently did a post specifically about sailboat-dwelling minimalist nomads because I read a book about it that I liked so much. Other types of nomadic minimalists are people who live/travel in vehicles on land or people who live out of suitcases or backpacks, like people who hop from one Airbnb to another or who are professional house-sitters.

But extreme minimalists don't have to be nomads. They can live in a small space in one place, such as an apartment. Their home can be very minimal in aesthetic, possessions, and cost. This can include a lack of decorations and furniture. I'd say my bedroom makeover in my old apartment probably falls into the extreme minimalist category. 

While a "normal" minimalist could streamline their clothing with a capsule wardrobe, an extreme minimalist would go down to a single change of clothes, shoes, etc. (plus an extra for wash day). 

They could also own a single set of silverware, one plate, bowl, cup, etc. per person. 

Some people choose to have mats or pillows as their only seating, no TVs or other personal electronics and place their mattress on the floor. They only have one set of sheets. They're "zero waste." 

Some people base their minimalism on how many possessions they own overall. I read about this 100 things challenge where you downsize until you have only 100 things left. I also saw that one person has 15 possessions!!!

I have to admit, I kind of drowned in all the ways you can be an extreme minimalist. I'm going to truncate my descriptions so it doesn't take you an hour to read this post. Here are some more:

• Fasting/intermittent fasting/very low-calorie diet
• Abstinence
• Sobriety
• Religious/spiritual pilgrimage
• Extreme frugal minimalism

Basically, any way you can be a minimalist, you can take it to an extreme level. 

Misconceptions about extreme minimalism

I think people unfamiliar with how regular minimalism works might look at extreme minimalism and think that it's normal minimalism. That everyone who says they're a minimalist only owns 15 things and lives in a 200 square-foot apartment with a mattress on the floor and a single pair of socks. 

I think this assumption is what leads people to go overboard in their minimalist journey, thinking they have to meet other people's expectations. They eliminate what's important because they think they have to. Then they regret their decision, end up "hating minimalism," and become anti-minimalists because they think that will make them happy.

Whether you take conservative steps or extreme ones, your minimalist journey should be about what's right for you. Giving things up that enrich your life is not minimalist. It's sacrifice. 

Likewise, people who criticize others for being too extreme or not minimalist enough don't really understand minimalism either. If a minimalist wants to have 50 t-shirts or 100 paper books or save 3000 pictures, how does that hurt anyone?

I also don't see a problem with someone being not minimalist for special occasions. Maybe they're a frugal minimalist all year, but they splurge on an awesome annual vacation, treat their partner to a luxurious anniversary date, or spoil their grandchild on their birthday.

The benefits of extreme minimalism

While this type of minimalism is not for everyone, there are some potential benefits. Even more so than standard minimalist practices, extreme minimalism could lead to more free time, debt elimination, stress reduction, early retirement, the ability to pursue your passions instead of chasing a paycheck, better physical health, and a smaller impact on the environment. 

It's just a question of creating a balance until you maximize benefits and minimize side effects. Depending on one's tolerance for extremism, in theory, the more extreme one goes, the more benefits one receives.  

Is extreme minimalism selfish?

As I was reading about this topic, I actually came across a few articles that addressed this question. In their minds, anything extreme has the potential to be selfish. 

If you minimize your possessions while only considering yourself, then this could lead to complications. For example, one person said she had dinner guests over and drank her wine from a coffee mug because she only owns 2 wine glasses. But, she reasoned, this was still better than not having enough glasses to serve them wine at all.

I guess that's one way to think about it. Another way is that it's pretty shallow and privileged to be worried about whether you're drinking your wine from a mug or a wine glass. I wonder how much of her concern was about her worry of how others saw her?

My predecessor on this blog told me that it isn't uncommon for RVers to not have enough chairs, cups, or even food to accommodate guests, due to their limited storage space and tiny little kitchen areas. She said this is acknowledged as part of RV life, and there's an easy solution for it. When one RVer invites another over for a gathering, you ask what you should bring. Whether it's side dishes, a chair, or even your own plate, this is something that's considered an acceptable ask of your guests. Nobody gets judgy about it or thinks it's rude. It's common for the RVing community to share what they have and help others when they can. Isn't that nice?

And actually, my parents raised me that a polite guest always asks what they can bring or do to help when they're invited to someone else's home. When did it become a rule that what someone brings has to be limited to a bottle of wine or a bag of chips? 

Someone else said that when he was a minimalist, he was a "taker" because he lived in a trailer and rode a bike everywhere. So he could be a guest, but not have a guest. And he couldn't give anyone a ride anywhere. He also mentioned that he was strapped for cash.

I don't understand why it's selfish if you can't afford a car or an extra bed sitting around in case, someday, you need to use them?? When did living within your means make you a "taker?" 

Or what if you just think that's wasteful? I think it's more of a problem that people are perceived as selfish for not owning excess things instead of evaluated for the quality of their personality and morals.

Also, if you only have to work part-time because you're an extreme frugal minimalist, maybe that means you can offer free dog walks to a neighbor or be available to drive your relative to their doctor's appointment. It means you don't have to miss important things in the lives of your loved ones because you're too busy working. That doesn't seem selfish to me.

But in the end, it isn't always bad to be a little selfish. Everyone is entitled to live in an authentic way, and sometimes that means that your wants and needs take priority over what other people want or expect you to do. It's unhealthy to give all your time and energy to everyone else. Even the most altruistic amongst us recognize the importance of keeping themselves healthy so they can help more people. 

Right now, there are a lot of problems in this world that are the result of perceiving things a certain way that is not the most useful. If we want to improve our situation, it has to start in our heads and being open to thinking differently. Extreme minimalism might not be for everyone, but the concepts are certainly food for thought. 

How to create a minimalist healthy eating plan

Well, it's finally here. After researching, testing, and revising my plan over and over, my guide on how to create a minimalist healthy eating plan is finally ready. This guide is meant to help create healthy eating habits while using the minimalist concept of focusing on what's most important first while letting go of less important things. In this case, what's most important to me in this eating plan is taking care of my health, affordability, and sustainability (meaning that I can follow this plan indefinitely because it's easy to stick to--eco-friendly grocery shopping is long enough to be its own post).

I thought about sharing more specifics of my plan, but decided against it for reasons I'll explain later. However, if you really want to know the details, let me know by sending me an email or commenting on this post. For now, this is a guide on how to create your own plan, because I felt like that would be more beneficial to everyone than seeing what I eat.

Since this is a post about health, I have to throw some disclaimers in here: I'm not a medical professional or a dietitian. And even if I was, I'm not your healthcare professional and don't know anything about your personal health needs. So keep in mind that what I say in this article is my opinion based on what I've found works best for my body, is for entertainment purposes only, and is not meant to be medical advice. You should always check with your own healthcare providers when making changes to your diet. Or something like that. You get the picture.

Here's what to look forward to in this post:

1. Make your goals
2. Add in more of the good stuff
3. Stop what isn't working
4. Re-evaluate
5. Some bonus tips

Oh, and if you want to save this post for later, you can pin it with this link.

1. Make your goals

As with any minimalist transition, I think it's important to know what you're aiming for. Just saying "I want to be healthier" is vague enough that you might not even know if you reach your goals. 

Also, I kinda dislike the word goals. I feel like it puts a lot of pressure on things, which for me, means that I'm likely to revolt and go in the opposite direction because I'm just stubborn that way.

Try to lead me, I'll resist.

If this is you too, then think of it like deciding what you want out of this change and then making decisions based on your desires instead of making goals. 

Lastly, I don't consider this a diet. For me, this is a lifestyle change. So it's not about how quickly I complete the changeover.

If you care, here are my "goals" or desires with this eating plan:

• Better digestion. I know since I've been eating more take-out, it's definitely affected my stomach.
• Better energy. I have a tendency to eat a lot at once and then not eat again for a long time, which makes my energy levels uneven during the day. So this plan is not just about what I eat, but also about when/how I eat.

That's about it. I know when I mentioned creating this plan before, I talked about having gained a few pounds, but I'm not doing this to lose weight. I'm more concerned about the health implications behind weight gain--from what I've read, virtually everyone who is overweight is malnourished. Someone can eat a lot, but that doesn't mean they are getting proper nutrition. Of course, this is usually true for people who are underweight as well. 

So my goal is to eat healthfully and increase my nutrient intake. As a side effect, my weight should change, which would indicate that I'm eating what my body needs. If it still doesn't change or I don't feel any better, then I probably need to see a doctor about my digestion. Either way, I'm using my weight as an indicator of nutrient absorption. 

I purposely didn't post this in the spring or the beginning of the summer (for my hemisphere) because I didn't want to follow the trend of posts about getting ready to look good on the beach. I also didn't choose to wait until around the end of the year to follow the New Year's Resolution trends. That's because I don't want to encourage people to engage in unhealthy behaviors or do things because of peer pressure. This is not about weight loss, getting skinny, or looking good in selfies.

Also, if you're looking for a detailed meal plan, this post is not about that. Remember, this is how to create a plan, not what the plan is. I'll explain why I don't give all the details of my own plan in section 5 of this post. Now, on to how to create a minimalist healthy eating plan.

2. Add in more of the good stuff

Once you have your aspirations all lined up, the next thing to do is start changing how you eat.

The difference between my healthy eating plan and a "diet" is that this plan is mostly about adding more healthy foods, while a diet usually has you cut out foods so you can lose weight or meet some other goal.

Since I want better digestion, I slowly added in more fiber. I did this slowly, because adding too much at once usually causes more digestive problems. I generally don't count calories or check on my nutrient intake on a daily basis, but I do check in periodically. The restaurant and processed food I was eating were low in fiber. I decided on some easy, affordable ways to increase my fiber intake that I enjoy. This included eating more kale, Granny Smith apples, beans, and homemade popcorn. I also started adding more fiber to smoothies and baking. I do this by sneaking in ground flaxseed and pumpkin puree. Not only are these great binders, but they really don't change the flavor either in the correct quantities. You just have to either switch them out for another element in the recipe, adjust your ratios, or start with a recipe that already has them.

As an added bonus, adding fiber fills you up more than less fibrous foods. This helps with my second goal or aspiration, which is better energy. It helped almost by accident. Because I'm full faster, I eat smaller meals. But then I can eat another meal a while later instead of waiting for 6 or 8 hours. Eating more frequent, smaller meals give me more consistent energy than larger, fewer meals.

Meal prepping also helps with this goal. I'd get really annoyed if I had to make meals from scratch 5-6 times per day. But by prepping one dish and eating it in small amounts several times per day, I'm just reheating. I supplement the prepped dish with snacky foods like popcorn, or an apple with nut butter, alternating between snacks and "meals."

3. Stop what isn't working

The good part about adding in healthier foods first is that if you focus on eating more of them, you end up with less room for unhealthy foods. But, that doesn't mean you shouldn't consider what else you might need to remove. After paying attention to what I eat and how it affects me, I decided there are a few things I needed to stop doing.

First, eating takeout. You just never know everything that goes into a meal made in a restaurant, but it's likely to contain a lot of the following: oil/grease, sugar/sweeteners, salt, and ingredients that come from packages (processed foods with weird man-made products). None of those things make my stomach very happy.

Bloating. The struggle is real.

Second, eating frozen or prepared foods at home. Just like restaurant foods, there's a bunch of potential digestion-ruiners in prepared meals. I suspect that preservatives and other chemicals also bother my GI tract. I've taken to making my own versions of various condiments and sauces that are easy to make, cheaper than the bottled stuff, and minus all the unpronounceable ingredients.

Third, eating anything that doesn't resemble real food. My main goal at home is to eat foods that come in the most natural form possible. I'm not aiming for 100% whole foods, but relatively close. For example, of all the pastas out there, I digest the kind made only from brown rice best. So I'm not foregoing pasta, but I don't buy any kind made of wheat, corn, quinoa, beans, soy, or konjac.

4. Re-evaluate

Food is such a big deal to most people. It's a large part of social interaction, cultural identity, and also can carry a lot of stigma and shame. Any or all of these factors might be in opposition to your goals with a healthy eating plan. If you find this happening, you can decide if there are ways to compromise or do things differently. You can also ask people that you eat or buy food with to support you. Tell them you're trying to eat healthier and ask if they want to do it with you, or if they can at least help you stay on track by not tempting you with unhealthy foods.

Also, you can see if the changes you've made are helping you get to where you want to be. Keep in mind that if you've been eating a certain way for a long time, it may also take a long time to see any difference. Manage your expectations accordingly.

5. Some bonus tips

Just like everything else in this blog, this isn't a guide for making drastic changes quickly. This is about making small changes slowly so you don't get shell-shocked and give up. 

Each step listed above was a change I made and eased into gradually. I've seen videos of people who decide to quit sugar for 30 days. They take everything with sugar in it and throw it out and quit cold turkey. My plan isn't devised for a sprint, it's a marathon. So I eliminated foods I no longer wanted to eat by using them up little by little until they were gone. Then, I didn't buy anymore. This method works great for avoiding withdrawals or cravings, too.

This is of course not to say that I won't ever eat out again, or have any processed food. That's just unrealistic, considering every once in a while I'll want to take a break from cooking everything myself. I just know that eating a lot less of these foods will make me feel better, and also be more affordable. 

The reason why I didn't show my full meal plan is because what works for me is not necessarily going to work for you. Everyone's body is different, so copying everything I do isn't a blueprint for success. I think we can all agree that certain things, like processed foods, are not the healthiest. But beyond that, I think each person has to observe how what they eat affects them and react accordingly.  

Something else I read is that you shouldn't start a new diet and exercise program at the same time. If you aren't getting proper nourishment, then you'll be more prone to injury. So starting to exercise (or exercising more vigorously) while also messing with how you eat is a bad idea. I haven't stopped exercising completely, but I'm only doing some walking and very gentle strength/stabilizing exercises right now. 

That last thing I want to say is an acknowledgment that I don't think there's anything groundbreaking about this guide. It's mostly common sense. However, I think what's different is the idea that you don't change everything at once and that you're trying to live life differently for a long time, not just do a crash diet for quick results. Becoming healthier doesn't happen overnight.

How minimalism creates satisfaction, not just gratification

Do you know the difference between satisfaction and gratification? The words are often used interchangeably, but their definitions are not the same. In this post, I want to discuss how minimalism can satisfy, and not just gratify, and why this is so important.

• The definitions of satisfaction and gratification
• Examples of gratification from everyday life
• Why gratification alone doesn't support a minimalist lifestyle
• Examples of satisfaction in minimalism
• How to have both satisfaction and gratification in your life as a minimalist

If you don't have time to read this post now, you can Pin it for later.

The definitions of satisfaction and gratification

The concept for this article came from a weird place, and it's probably going to be my most philosophical post yet. If you find you like this sort of topic, let me know!

I'm an avid reader, and I just finished reading a book by A.J. Rico called Psycho Bitch: A Love Story. If you haven't read this, I don't want to spoil it for you by giving away too many details. But if you like modern fiction, then this is a good one (TW: discussions of childhood neglect). I dislike the name. But really, the name is the worst part of the story.

In the book, the main character talks about her realization that she'd been focused on gratification but never felt satisfied. I hadn't ever looked into the definitions of each term and had always assumed they were synonyms and not very different.

According to Merriam-Webster's website, the term satisfaction as defined in the context we're using is "a fulfillment of a need or want." Another listed definition is "a source or means of enjoyment: GRATIFICATION."

If you click on gratification from there, you see that it's defined as "a source of satisfaction or pleasure."

While both definitions mention positive feelings, it appears that gratification is more closely linked with how you feel, while, "fulfillment of a need or want" seems to be linked to more tangible results. A.J. Rico explained this much more eloquently in the book, but hopefully, I'm making sense here. I'm going to give examples below for each to further explain my theory.

Examples of gratification from everyday life

Again from Merriam-Webster, they give the example sentence "Eating good chocolate gives me a sense of intense gratification." What I extract from this sentence is that at the time when the writer is eating chocolate, and probably immediately after, they feel good. What's unspoken, and is common for many people is that the feeling may change to something negative when eating chocolate is recalled later. Maybe it leads to an upset stomach, or guilt about going off a diet or worries that someone who finds out will shame you.

Another example is an impulse buy. Maybe there's an initial pleasure when you first bring the item home. But later on, there's anxiety when looking at your bank account or credit card balance.

My happiness is always short-lived after buying something.

Now, let's look at something completely benign and its after-effects. I mentioned the book I just read. It was free, so there are no monetary consequences to reading it. I didn't read it instead of doing something else I needed to, so it's just an enjoyable hobby. The ending was OK, kind of predictable, but acceptable, and didn't take away that much from the book as a whole.

Overall, I feel gratified. But will I still have that same level of pleasure from this book a week, month, or year after I've read it?

Probably not. In fact, within 24 hours of finishing the book, I moved on to another story. One book does not satisfy my interest in reading over the long term.

I'm always ready to read another book!

In conclusion, gratification feels nice, but it tends to be fleeting. There may also be negative backlash later, once the initial glow fades. Either way, it won't be long before you have to search out another source of gratification.

Why gratification alone doesn't support a minimalist lifestyle

Pulled from previous posts on this blog, let's define minimalism as the practice of focusing on the things that matter most to you and letting go of other things that matter less. By narrowing down what you focus on, you decide that the less important things can be set aside. This creates space, time, and energy for what really matters. And what matters is entirely personal to the individual.

However, I think it's been well-established that cluttering your life with too much is not minimalist behavior. The "too much" can be in the form of possessions, activities, feelings, responsibilities, debt, etc. There are simply only so many hours available, and it just isn't possible to do all the things, all of the time.

I looked for a picture related to FOMO and this came up. It was too cute to pass up, even though it has nothing to do with the article. 😁

While minimalism should be about what feels good to you and works best for you, seeking out those feelings through gratification alone is going to fill up your life. This is because the temporary nature of gratification means you have to refill your cup, so to speak, over and over again, to keep it full. So focusing on gratifying yourself is going to make a minimalist journey a lot more difficult, if not impossible.

Now, let's examine how satisfaction contrasts with gratification. 

Examples of satisfaction in minimalism

If minimalism is adopted as a lifestyle (or aspects of it), then there are long-term benefits to be gained that can't necessarily be reached by using minimalism for limited projects or purposes. In the same way that a crash diet doesn't guarantee permanent weight loss, being a minimalist just to achieve a short-term goal doesn't create satisfaction. It can gratify you, but when you revert back to non-minimalist habits, you'll have to find a new source of good feelings because the positive results fade.

My conclusion is that you have to incorporate minimalism in a long-term or permanent fashion for it to work.  

For example, the seasonal capsule wardrobe is useful because you can focus down your wardrobe just enough to create efficiency with minimal change to your life--you don't have to give up any clothes, just put them aside for a while. Using the capsule for 3 months is short enough that most people won't become bored or uncomfortable because of weather extremes. I think 6 months or a year of wearing the same limited wardrobe wouldn't be tolerated well by most people, even if there was little climate variation. Meanwhile, changing out the capsule every week or 2 is too often and would eliminate the time- and energy-saving benefits created by having a capsule wardrobe.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm also working on a minimalist healthy eating plan and exercise plan. I'm taking my time with it because I want to make sure I can implement the changes over the long term. I don't want to do a "diet" or start exercising in a way that will end up injuring me or making me give up quickly. Other people use morning and evening routines to reduce chaos and improve feelings of wellness and productivity. Whether you realize it or not, creating a routine is a form of minimalism as defined in the first sentence of the previous section: the practice of focusing on the things that matter most to you and letting go of other things that matter less. 

But all of these examples require continuous application in your life if you want to obtain satisfaction from them. Temporary methods result in only temporary fixes (AKA gratification).

How to have both satisfaction and gratification in your life as a minimalist

Lots of people are really into instant gratification. The problem with instant results is they often don't take more than a few moments into account, leaving future happiness untended. But that doesn't mean there shouldn't be any gratification at all. There should be a good balance between both pleasurable experiences in the present and saving some happiness for the future. If it's all one way or another, then there's nothing to look forward to and no motivation to do anything.

It took a bunch of my free time to re-organize my small apartment into a more decluttered, minimalist aesthetic. However, I planned out a place for everything I own in a way that makes sense to me on an intuitive level. So now that my minimalist makeover is done, I have a space that fulfills my needs and wants for lack of clutter, pleasing visuals, and ease of use. 

As I continue to easily keep my space clean and organized, I experience satisfaction in how the changes perform for me week after week. The new setup is one that I can easily continue to use as long as I live in this space. I am also gratified (immediate, short-term pleasure) when I can quickly find and use anything I need, whether it's to use my desk space or work on a crafts project.

So in my short experience with minimalism, I find the solution to be quite simple. Find an area that you want to simplify, and build a system to do so. Once that system is in place and you've created habits to make it work, you will get both regular gratifications as well as long-term satisfaction.  

As for how to build a system that lasts for a long time, I recommend finding a way to create and keep new habits that work well for you. I know what works for me is starting with micro-habits or tiny habits. For example, if I wanted to start waking up at 5 am instead of 7:30 am so I could have uninterrupted time to start writing a book, I wouldn't just set my alarm for 5 the next morning and expect to jump out of bed and type up 2000 words before breakfast. It might work once or twice, but I might also just hit snooze 17 times and end up waking up at my normal time. 😬

When I've had to change something big, I've broken it down into really small steps and focused just on the first step until I've gotten used to it. In this case, the first step would be to set my alarm for 7:25 for the next morning. That's it, nothing more. I'd keep my wake-up time at 7:25 am for the next few days or weeks until I felt comfortable with it. Then I'd move it up to 7:20, 7:15, and so on. Maybe starting with a 7:00 alarm, I could think about adding a little bit of writing time in the morning. I would probably start with 5 minutes or so, just because it's hard for me to be coherent first thing in the morning.

Nope, this definitely isn't instant gratification. It could take weeks or months to even get to where I fully started my goal of waking up at 5 and writing 2000 words per day. I'm thinking there are lots of people out there who would give up if they had to move this slowly.

If that's true for you, I have an additional suggestion, which is building a reward system for staying on task with your new habits. Incentivizing your behavior is a great way to reinforce the habits and keep them going. Pick things that you enjoy and look forward to, but that won't empty your wallet or lead to other habits that are unhealthy.

There are lots of rewards that are free and create positive associations with your actions. For example, after 20 minutes of writing, you could take a 5-minute dance break. Put on your favorite song and dance around the room to it. Not only would this build endorphins from the exercise, but the increase in blood flow could wake up your brain and give you a dose of creativity!

Another technique I find helpful is called habit stacking. This involves taking on a new habit to existing habits or actions that you usually take. Usually, you stack a new habit with at least 2 existing habits or actions that you already do automatically. For example, you want to drink more water. You could add water into your existing habits in a few ways. Here's how I do it:

• I keep water right next to my bed. When I wake up (old habit/action 1), I sit up (old habit/action 2) and drink some water (new habit) before I even get up for the day.
• I take a drink after each time I use the bathroom (1). When I come out of the bathroom (2), it's a habit now for me to go to my water bottle and drink some (new habit). 

I've been good about drinking lots of water for a long time, so I find I don't need to stack it as much anymore. Here are some more independent micro-habits that I have regarding water intake.

• If I'm going to be away from home for an hour or more, I bring water with me in the car. I drink some before I leave the house and make sure I fill up the container before I leave. Then I take a sip before I get out of the car, and another sip when I get back in the car. I also drink some water immediately when I get home.
• I hate talking on the phone, it makes me nervous. So I take a sip before I make a call, and drink some more after the call is over.
• I drink water while I'm cooking after each time I taste my food to see if it's seasoned properly.
• When I [used to] go out to eat, I'd make it a goal to drink the whole cup of water before my meal arrived. I also like to drink at least one cup of water during the meal.

One last piece of advice I have about forming new habits is to work on only 1 habit at a time. It's very fatiguing to train your brain and body to do something different, and if you try to do it for too many things at once, you're going to increase the chances of failure. So instead of writing that novel while starting a strict diet and exercise routine and also remodeling your house by yourself, pick the one that you want to do the most right now and work on it. The other goals will be there when you're ready.

Emotional decluttering: 6 concepts I'm removing from my thoughts

I decided it was time to declutter my emotional life. Here are the 6 concepts I decided to cut out of my life recently to help declutter emotionally. Choosing these concepts was based on thinking about things that are renting space in my head that are not beneficial to my emotional well-being or physical health. I also explain what I replaced these thoughts with that I think is healthier for me. I discuss my reasons why in detail so that if any of this resonates with you, you can be inspired to do something similar. Here's my list of decluttered concepts:

1. Success
2. Hustle culture
3. Other people's expectations
4. Comparison
5. Conformity
6. Surface appearance

Then I'll talk about some tips for doing your own emotional decluttering.

If you don't have time to read this post now, you can save it to Pinterest for later.

1. Success

Lots of people define themselves by their jobs. It's one of the first questions people ask when they meet someone new: "What do you do for a living?" Even the way the question is phrased implies that people should live to work. Then there's the added stress of how your job and its title reflect on you from a social perspective. Would a doctor marry a janitor, and would they proudly tell people what their spouse does for work? Do people who earn money in less socially acceptable ways cringe when they're asked about their job?

And as for the question people ask children about what they want to do when they grow up, I think it says a lot about how they are raised when they answer with something like "I want to be a doctor, a lawyer, a singer, an astronaut," etc. There are not enough kids who respond with an answer about wanting to be kind, cure cancer or eliminate poverty or hunger. Those are the kids who are something special and I hope they hold on to that mindset into adulthood.

In the same way, success is measured (at least in my country) by how attractive someone is, what they own, and how big their bank account is. Unless they're born into a family that has money, people seem to believe this all success and the lifestyle that go with it comes from getting the right job.

I'm going to be very blunt here. This mindset that a career defines who someone is as a person is one that comes from privilege. I think it's most prevalent in places like North America and certain parts of Europe and Asia. Someone living in poverty, with worries about housing, lack of food, and unmet medical needs is a lot less likely to have time to think about their "dream job." Being poor or having a low-paying job or one that isn't prestigious doesn't make a person bad, stupid, lazy, or unsuccessful. To believe this is ignorance. 

That being said, I have the privilege to NOT pursue a dream job or career. If I had to think about it, a dream career would be something creative, which is the opposite of what I do now. But I don't want my art, sewing, crochet, or other hobbies to be tainted by the pressure of meeting customer needs, running a business, and having the public critique any decisions I make. That's why I go to work solely to pay my bills.

In other words, I plan on working to live, not living to work. My job does not define me, and I don't need to find a career to feel like I have a purpose or to feel whole. 

2. Hustle culture

I know a lot of people my age have a regular job, plus a part-time job or a side hustle. Or, they're self-employed and working every day, 12 hours per day or more. Unfortunately, there are many people who can't afford to live off of a single source of income, but I wouldn't call them part of the hustle culture. They're not working that much by choice; it's to survive.

In contrast, the hustle culture group chooses to work like crazy so they can build up a bunch of money quickly--because they want to be rich, they're saving for something big, or they want to retire early. There might be other reasons, but I'm not aware of them. If you know, feel free to help me out in the comment section.

I really don't understand voluntarily taking on this amount of stress, even temporarily. There's a high amount of burnout associated with this type of behavior. It's bad enough that there's an increase in people being forced into early retirement because of health reasons, but I can't help but think that hustle culture is just contributing to it.

The worst part is how people glamorize this lifestyle. They make it seem like if you're not overworking yourself, you're not working hard enough. I wonder how these people feel when they're unable to work any longer. If their "hustle" was their life, then what do they have left when they stop hustling?

Hustle culture isn't for me. I'd rather choose slow and intentional living. Maybe it'll take me longer to reach my goals, but at least I'll have balance and a chance to enjoy the journey. I'm not interested in betting on a possible future life that may or may not happen when I could be living in the guaranteed present.

3. Other people's expectations

Everywhere we turn, there are people ready to tell us what to do. There are ads telling us what to buy (and implying that our lives are better if we do). Our families and friends, either well-meaning or blatantly controlling, lay out for us what they think our lives should be and the decisions we should make. And the previously mentioned expectations don't even cover employers and how much influence they have on how we spend our days.

It can often feel like we're living our lives entirely at the whim of others' expectations. Everything from how we look, how we act, what we believe, what we eat...even what we think! And if we don't follow the rules, then unsolicited advice and criticism come rolling in.

I know all about this. I'm different from the norm in a lot of ways, and people have been very freely pointing that out to me for as long as I can remember. Even when they don't verbalize their expectations, I've also experienced a sense of silent criticism in response to actions that they clearly didn't approve of. 

Well, I'm tired of it. There are things about me that I simply can't change; they're inherent to who I am because I was born that way. Other parts of me are choices, and I choose to not change them.

From now on, I'm making the conscious decision to live by my own decisions as much as possible. I don't think anyone can completely step away from what other people want from us. But I'm going to try my best. And not in a confrontational way, either, because that's not really my style. I'm just going to be me, unapologetically. 

4. Comparison

Different from other people's expectations, the comparison is a problem when you're doing it to yourself. I think there's way too much competitiveness these days. 

You know that saying about comparing apples to oranges? I feel like comparing any person to another one is like comparing an apple to an orange. Sure, we all have some basic things in common as humans. But realistically, we are all too different to really compare to each other. Even two siblings who grew up together will be very different in how they interpret their experiences, their preferences, and how they choose to move forward in life. If you think about you and your siblings, or families you know that have more than one child, I'm sure you'll agree. Even identical twins (I grew up going to school with at least 3 sets that I can remember) have different personalities and usually grow up to create very individual lives for themselves.

How do you like THEM apples? 😂

I don't believe that a little competition is healthy. I think the healthiest way to go is to do the best you can to create a life filled with balance, kindness, and purpose, all while making health a priority. If everyone did that and helped to support their friends and neighbors to do the same, then I think the world would be a much better place than this competition-laden, comparison-heavy society we live in. 

 I'm choosing to take a more positive path myself. I'm going to focus as much as possible on taking care of myself and accepting myself as I am, right now. I also know it feels good to help other people, so I will do that wherever I can, and see what I can do about incorporating that as a regular part of my life.

5. Conformity

I consider this a separate concept from both other people's expectations and comparisons, although they are all related. If conformity were a fully realized ideal, then I imagine there would be several people with lots of money and influence who would dictate how everyone else should strive to live. There would be a lot of cookie-cutter humans with cookie-cutter lives. How boring!

And not at all realistic, either. People who think outside the box are the ones who foster change and growth in this world. They often receive a lot of grief for it, but their instincts drive them to keep going. Even if they don't succeed, their mistakes or failures give us valuable insight into what could be done differently next time. Lack of individuality would lead to stagnation in the development of society.

People may not understand how a non-conformist's mind works. That's alright. It isn't the responsibility of an original thinker to explain themselves or try to persuade someone else to think the same way. Their only responsibility is to be true to themselves.

I'm not going to claim to be some sort of monumentally innovative person who's going to change the world as we know it. But I do want to honor my non-conformist thoughts and beliefs. Maybe I'll do a separate post about them in the future. I am also going to try to be more aware of how I speak to other people. I think it's a natural tendency for most people to think that if someone disagrees with them, they must be wrong. Then, the next step is to argue your point and get them to change their mind. Does that ever work? It hasn't for me! So I'm going to try to stop doing that, and just accept other people's right to have their own thoughts.

6. Surface appearance

Although this concept could arguably fall under some of the other categories, I wanted to make this a separate discussion because I think it's something that's important enough to be addressed on its own.

I'm not immune to concerns about my appearance. I didn't grow up wearing a lot of make-up (my multi-ethnic heritage made it tough to find products that worked well with my skin tone) and I was kind of in my own little world when it came to fashion. I didn't make these choices with much thought at first about their relationship to my self-perception. But it's hard to practice self-love and self-acceptance when your peers are constantly fretting over how they look. Or, when that insecurity spills over on to you: "You'd look so pretty if you wore some make-up," or "You're so...earthy." Ummm, thanks?!?

It seems like concerns about looks are starting at a much younger age. I've actually had to mute the Instagram accounts of some of my younger cousins because I can't bear to watch what they're doing to themselves. They post pictures that are way too revealing for tweens and teenagers. Even the boys. I would say something to their parents, but I doubt it would make a difference. Based on what I know of the "adults" and how they act, I suspect they're not setting the best example for the younger generation; they're all just as worried about their looks as the kids.

There isn't a problem inherent to caring about your looks. The problem is when that's prioritized over other things, like taking care of your body on the inside. Like spending crazy amounts of money on those 9-step skin care systems or diet pills with ingredients that can cause heart failure, instead of feeding and hydrating your body properly and staying active.

In the end, everyone is still going to get older, and sometimes you can't help when something changes with your looks, body shape, or weight. The effectiveness of all these surface treatments is questionable, not to mention potentially harmful. There's also the problem where comparison culture, conformity, and worries about appearance intersect, and people try to force their faces and/or bodies to look like other people's or how they think they "should" look. This is pretty much never going to get the desired results; our genetics and other factors are always going to get in the way.

I can't say I've never tried a fad diet or a special cream. But that was back when I was too young and naive to understand the value of doing research about things before I tried them. There are so many so-called experts out there who will say anything to get some money from you, and they don't know what they're talking about. As for product manufacturers, they can flat-out lie about things and get away with it. For example, here in the U.S., a food product can be labeled "natural" and it means absolutely nothing from a nutritional standpoint. Many products aren't even required to be tested for safety or purity before they're put on the market, and will only get pulled after enough people get sick or die.

Once I started fact-checking these products, I made the decision to stop risking my health in the name of surface appearance. I'm also not worried about doing other things that are less risky but are just for cosmetic purposes. For example, I can't remember the last time I wore make-up. I also don't own any garments that are supposed to make you look skinnier (like Spanx), or push-up bras, or high heels. Or anything else that is uncomfortable and meant to contort my body to make it look "better."

How to do your own emotional decluttering

The first step in deciding how to emotionally declutter is to discover negative concepts that are part of your life--some of which you may not even be aware of. Some, I knew right away that I wanted to work on. The others I picked through a quick online search. I found a Reddit thread that talked about toxic concepts that are normalized in today's society. I read through the posts and found ideas that resonated with me. Then I asked myself if I was letting these negative ideas affect my life, and how.

 

Next, I figured out ways to think and act that would be more beneficial to me emotionally.

This is the easy part. The hard part is putting this change into practice. I have a few ideas for how you can do this:

• Meditation. The benefits of meditation are well-documented at this point, both by thousands of years of anecdotal evidence and more recently by research. In general, meditation helps to remove clutter from your thoughts. There are several great apps, many of them free, that offer guided meditation/visualization on various topics, from self-esteem, anxiety, chronic pain, and sleep. I've also taken yoga classes where we meditated at the end, which was really nice.
• Therapy. I don't believe there is an adult in this world who wouldn't benefit from therapy (even the therapists themselves). Sometimes, our negative thoughts come from deeper-rooted issues, and the causes are things that we simply aren't equipped to deal with on our own--and therefore, we need experts to help us. There is nothing wrong or shameful about that. To me, it's the same as getting a mechanic to work on my car or an engineer to make sure a building design is structurally safe. These are things I don't know how to do on my own, so I would ask for help.
• Commit to the process instead of the goal. People get so focused on achieving a goal that sometimes they take ill-advised shortcuts, or get frustrated and give up when the results don't come as quickly as expected. A better way to approach emotional change is by focusing on the process you take--make the journey your goal, rather than the destination. For example, commit to meditating 20 minutes per day without expectations of results. Just focus on learning how to meditate and enjoy taking this time to care for yourself. Isn't it more likely to be beneficial than if you spend that 20 minutes wondering why you don't feel better yet, or how long it will take for your mind to calm down?
• Change your focus. Instead of putting energy into the negative thoughts, spend time focusing on the positive concepts. This isn't the same as avoiding bad things--hiding from something doesn't solve anything, it just puts the issue off until later (at which time it may be a bigger problem). Here's an example of what I mean: instead of looking in the mirror and saying "I hate ___ about myself," I can find the qualities I like. For example, I like the color of my hair. My eye color is pretty, too. I don't think there's anything conceited about this. I'm observing a part of myself that I'm happy with and appreciate, instead of looking at things I dislike and concentrating on them. This is not avoidance, in which case I would avoid looking at the body part in the mirror that I don't like, but still ruminate on how bad it looks. Do you see the difference? And it isn't just wishful thinking that this actually makes things better for you, either. In a Huffington Post article from 2017, they talked about research that "thoughts alone can improve vision, fitness, and strength," and how practicing gratitude makes the body produce more dopamine.
• Remember that only you get to decide how you react to something. Nobody can "make" you feel anything. And although sometimes it feels like your emotions can be out of control, there are ways to get them back in check. One of the easiest is to stop for a moment and take a few deep breaths. Another is to get some exercise. You can also journal, talk with a friend, or scream into a pillow (sometimes you just have to let it out to get past it!). 

Making the decision to change my thinking is just the first step. The rest is a long process that I will commit to working on for as long as it takes. If you have any other ideas you think are prevalent today but are unhealthy, feel free to mention them down below. Then write a healthier concept you think it should be replaced with and inspire others!

Minimalist lifestyle: 5 reasons why life is easier with minimalism

Life can be easier with minimalism--if you do it right!

In our previous post, 5 Common Misconceptions about Minimalism, we revealed the negative image of minimalism. These opinions are probably why people give up trying to be minimalist, or why they don't try at all. If you believe any of these misconceptions, it would be easy to get frustrated by a minimalist lifestyle!

So if you haven't already, I recommend you read that post first, then come back and learn about 5 reasons that life can be easier with minimalism. I also give you tips on how to make changes and be more minimalist. Here's a quick preview:

1. The minimalist lifestyle can improve your finances

2. Being more minimalist can give you more time to do things you enjoy

3. Minimalism can make your relationships better (or help you start new ones)

4. It's easier to stay organized with a minimalist life

5. You can reduce your stress with a minimalist lifestyle

If you don't have time to read it now, you can pin this post for later.

1. The minimalist lifestyle can improve your finances

I've only been minimalist for a few months, but I've already noticed that my bank account isn't as empty. Being stuck inside for the past ~year led me to do a lot of online shopping and ordering takeout. I did it because at first, all the stores and restaurants were closed, then because it didn't feel safe to shop in person, and mostly because I was bored.

All those shipping fees, restaurant delivery fees, and COVID price gouging started adding up. Suddenly, a $2 bottle of hand sanitizer cost $25--what?! It's a good thing that I didn't have a commute anymore and couldn't go out to dinner with friends because I didn't have money for that after buying toilet paper and cleaning supplies. 🙄

By making a few small changes in my shopping habits, I saved a ton of money and still bought things I enjoyed.

• I waited until I met the minimum purchase for free shipping before placing an order. Sometimes, things I wanted would go out of stock while I waited, but it wasn't like I needed them. I didn't apply this rule to necessities.
• I started picking up my take-out meals and doing curbside pickup of groceries instead of getting everything delivered. I know some people make a living off delivering food, and I'm sorry to take away money from them. But I shouldn't help anyone if I can't pay my own bills.
• I paid myself first. This means I set up an automatic transfer of part of my paycheck to go directly into savings. That way, I didn't have the chance to spend the money accidentally while it was sitting in my checking account.

2. Being more minimalist can give you more time to do things you enjoy

When I first started to be more minimalist, it definitely kept me busy. Making a change takes time and energy. It can also cause a lot of stress, especially if your life is already busy. This is probably where a lot of people get frustrated and give up.

This time when we're all social distancing is a good opportunity to make those minimalist changes. Chances are that you're doing less of something right now, so you have some free time. Once you've finished the transition, you get to keep the free time you gained.

I did a few things that may sound weird to you, but give them a try if you're comfortable with them. I guarantee they will give you more time in your schedule!

• I don't do laundry more than once per week. I used to do it about twice a week for just myself, and that took a lot of time. Now I just wait. I also have fewer clothes to wash, because...
• Since I rarely go out, I, ahem, re-use my clothes. Some of them, anyway. Before you get grossed out, I don't wear my underwear more than once. And obviously, any sweaty workout clothes don't get re-used. But if I'm only wearing clothes for an hour to run a quick errand, are they really dirty? If they still look and smell clean, then I'll wear them once more before they go into the washing machine. I also have a special place in my closet so they're not touching clothes that haven't been worn. I have no idea if this makes any difference germ-wise, but I do it anyway.
• Speaking of clothes, I made myself a capsule wardrobe. I'll explain more about that in my next post. But it definitely saves me time getting dressed!
• I clean for 15 minutes per day and that's it. I even set a timer. Whatever I can't get done during this speed-cleaning session has to wait until the next day. It was tough at first because I love having everything pristine. But after a few months, it stopped bothering me. It's not like my place is dirty, it's just...normal. And obviously, I don't include emergency clean-ups in my 15 minutes. If I spill a carton of orange juice on the floor, I clean that up and still get my 15 minutes of cleaning in later in the day.
• I use apps on my phone and laptop to restrict my social media usage. I actually HATED using these apps at first, because I would be in the middle of something and get locked out. But it really does save time! And really, I wasn't doing important things. My friends all know I use the timer so if I suddenly disappear, they know why. 😁
• All my bills are paid automatically through my bank. I had this mostly set up already. But I never set up my credit cards to withdraw automatic payments, because I was scared I would overdraft my bank account. Now that my budget is more organized, I feel comfortable enough to set this up for an automatic withdrawal. I have a list of all my regular bills, when they come out, and how much they are. I just check my balance once a week to make sure there's enough money for the bills and how much is left over. It only takes about 5 minutes.
• I decided to cut back on TV watching. I used to just keep it on in the background. But now I only watch my very favorite shows, and I limit it to two hours in the evening. Then I do other things before bed that don't involve screens, like some easy yoga and reading a book.

3. Minimalism can make your relationships better (or help you start new ones)

I'm not a very outgoing person, but I do like to spend quality time with close friends. Freeing up extra time meant I could concentrate more on those relationships, even though we couldn't see each other in person the same way.

Since my gym has been closed, some of my friends and I started doing "walk dates" where we'd meet at various parks or trails and take walks with our masks on. 

We also text or call each other like we did before, but more often. I think everyone in my circle of people, including me, has felt the need to check in on each other more during this strange time. Luckily, none of us got infected so far, but we still worry about each other and need some extra support.

I've been really good at following the social distancing rules. I haven't invited anyone over, and I haven't visited anyone's house. Sometimes my place feels lonely, but I have more time to work on hobbies! I think it's good to be alone and get re-acquainted with yourself every once in a while.

I also decided to join some online groups when I wanted to learn more about minimalism, as well as some forums that talk about hobbies I'm interested in. I haven't met any of these people in person, but it's been nice chatting with like-minded individuals.

If you're hesitant to meet people in person right now (you should be!), it's relatively easy to find free online groups to join in just about any category of interest. These interactions can lead to genuine friendships based on those common interests.

4. It's easier to stay organized with a more minimalist life

This is in part because of all the recent online shopping, but my apartment started to feel very claustrophobic lately. I felt like I spent a lot more time cleaning and trying to put things away because there was so. much. stuff. 

I even ended up buying a few things that I already had, because I couldn't find them! And my apartment isn't that big, so it's pretty sad that anything got lost inside it.

Luckily, because it's such a small space, decluttering wasn't that bad. I used the methods listed in our article, How to Declutter in 5 Steps. I got it all done in 2 weekends, and bam! Life got so much easier.

It wasn't just my physical space that became more organized because of minimalism. As I mentioned, I freed up time by cutting back on things that I didn't need to do and weren't as important to my life. It's crazy how much time I was wasting, and I didn't even realize! But if you add it all up, it leaves big gaps in your schedule so you can easily organize the stuff you actually need and want to do.

5. You can reduce your stress with a minimalist lifestyle

As you read the above reasons that explain how minimalism makes life easier, you could probably guess that making these changes would reduce your stress level. 

Having more free time for friends and family, relaxing, exercise, healthier eating, or hobbies would certainly reduce stress. 

Making even small changes like these had an unexpected side effect: a shift in my mindset and perspective about life in general. I became happier in many areas of my life, and at least more content in others. Of course, we're still in the middle of a pandemic, and there are lots of problems with the economy, social issues, and lots more. So to say I'm ecstatic about life would be a stretch.

But despite everything going on, I'd say I'm reasonably happy and fulfilled. Especially compared to last year. I see now that I was trying to self-medicate with empty distractions, like mindless spending and consumption of media.

I'm definitely not perfect. I'm new to all of this minimalist stuff and have a long way to go before I'd consider myself really minimalist. But I'm sure that things are still way better for me than they would be if I hadn't become more minimalist.

These steps were fairly painless and didn't make me feel restricted at all. Maybe I'll make more cutbacks in these categories in the future, but for right now I'm good with things how they are. 

If you're thinking of making any of these changes, I suggest going slowly and taking breaks. It's important to give yourself time to adjust to anything new. That way, you're less likely to get burned out and go back to how things were before.

Being Happy Despite Tragedy

Everyone is going through a lot right now. Meanwhile, in the background, life goes on, and "normal" not-so-good things happen as well. There's a lot to get in the way of happiness.

Even if your job, your family, or your health aren't in direct jeopardy right now, it's difficult living in a world experiencing so much loss, so many sad and terrible situations. Just being alive during this time is stressful. Those who are getting along fine right now might even feel a sense of guilt over their good fortune.

But there are lessons to be learned from all this tragedy. One, in particular, is how fleeting life is, and how rare true happiness can be. If you have opportunities to feel joy, I suggest you take them and relish in that feeling while it's available to you. Because whatever is happening around the corner could evoke an entirely different feeling.

I'm one of those people who feels the suffering of others acutely, which is why I can't follow the news (unless it's Some Good News). Being empathetic was a helpful attribute when I worked in healthcare, but pretty painful in our current times.

I've already talked about how I choose to mostly live in a vacuum, but today I want to focus on other techniques I use to be happy. Also, I have a surprise announcement related to being happy at the end of this post!

1. I keep things simple

Wherever I can use simplicity to make my life easier, I do it. Sometimes, having more means doing less. What do I mean by that? 

More is less translates into using tools or developing systems so that individual tasks are easier. For example, I have all kinds of splints and mobility aids to help with my chronic illnesses. I have routines down for things I do regularly.

I use apps to help me track things, like a medication reminder app, my Google calendar, my Fitbit app, a meditation app, etc. It might be great to have a single app, but it might not do all the tasks as well as more specialized apps. So I opt for programs that stick to one or two tasks I need to track, and do those tasks well.

As for owning more physical objects, I do it if it makes sense. For example, if you want to put a nail in a board but you only own a screwdriver, it makes sense to go get a hammer instead of struggling through your task with a screwdriver. 

So I may have a lot of different things in place, but they are all present to help me simplify and keep from wasting time on things I can automate or make easier with available tools.

2. I let things go

I'm just as stubborn as the next person. Get me fired up, and I will argue my point of view all day long. But if the next person is just as stubborn as I am, then where does that get me? I've wasted energy, anger, and time trying to convince someone that my opinion is right and they're wrong.

How often does that actually work? You can't force someone to agree with you, and if they don't, then you just used up part of your life that you'll never get back on a useless endeavor.

I'm not saying you should just roll over when someone differs from your opinion. Stand firm in your beliefs, but don't try to push others to have those beliefs as well. State your case and move on. It will give you more time to enjoy your life.

3. I challenge others to be happier

I've mentioned before that mom likes to tell me all the bad things she hears either on TV or Facebook. She's not alone in loving drama--obviously, because otherwise reality TV shows, soap operas, and gossip publications wouldn't have survived for so long.

But for me, I'm not such a fan. So I challenged her: she can only tell me news if it's 100% good news. And the news can't be that it's good for one person but at another's expense, either. It has to be something like: a little girl finished her last chemo treatment, and as her mom drove her home, her whole neighborhood stood in front of their houses and cheered for her.

Mom took the challenge seriously. She told me that lots of people are starting micro-businesses during COVID, and many of them are children who are starting non-profits to help the needy. That's what I like to hear!

So if you have a drama-monger in your life, try giving them this challenge! See what happiness-provoking news they can come up with.

4. I remind myself of all the things to be happy about

I'm reading a book right now called 14,000 things to be happy about by Barbara Ann Kipfer. While I don't feel happy about all the same things she does, it's certainly interesting to see her list. It evokes memories and ideas. So much so that I was inspired to create my own list and share it through social media. This is the list I made today, even though I was laying in bed with a splitting headache while I did it.

My goal with my little happiness project is just five things per day, no matter how big or small. And then sharing those things on social media, to hopefully help others think happy thoughts.

5. I let myself feel all the feelings

While I'm encouraging more happiness, I think it's ridiculous to believe we can be happy all the time. That's just not realistic. Plus, you still need the lows to appreciate the highs. So if I have a memory of something sad or experience a "down" reaction to something in the present, I let it happen. I sit with the emotions and immerse myself in them, instead of trying to ignore or run from them.

But I only give myself a few minutes. There's no sense in dwelling on something for hours or days--that's a dangerous route toward depression. So as the feelings are winding down, I give thanks and send out a blessing that this moment has passed, and go back to happier things.

6. I accept the present

I'm not going to go too deeply into this topic at the moment, because...I made a product about it! Actually, this is something I've been working on for several months in collaboration with a company called Ultimate Bundles. They've put together a guide called "The Ultimate Guide to More Joy and Less Stress: 15-Minute Exercises to Strengthen Your Mindset." I'm honored to be a contributor to the guide. My topic is "Make Peace with the Here and Now in 2 Steps."

The guide goes on sale in early October and will be only $15. It includes a PDF workbook and 15 video lessons--so that works out to be $1 per lesson for a guide that's timeless and yours forever. I also feel that this guide came out at a perfect moment in our lives when we need it most.

Here's the product list:

Clear Your Mind with a Brain Dump by Wella Zina

Do you ever have so many things stressing you out that you have trouble keeping track of them? This lesson will teach you a simple strategy to fix that.

Feel Good by Giving and Receiving Compliments by Liz Wilcox
Receiving compliments can be a great way to boost our self-esteem, but some of us shrug off compliments instead of fully appreciating them. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to make the most of every compliment and use them to develop more self-acceptance.

Get More Done with Tiny Time Blocking by Heather Davis

It’s easy to get overwhelmed by tasks that feel too big. This leads to self-doubt, procrastination, and guilty feelings. In this lesson, you’ll learn a simple solution for making big, scary tasks feel small and doable.

Destress with an Amazing Cup of Homemade Tea by Rachel Silves

If you want to feel more joy and less stress, you need to be kind to yourself. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to unwind and unplug with a good cup of tea, with herbs proven to promote relaxation and calm.

Make Peace with the Here and Now in Two Steps by Maya Nyssa (<--That's me!)

Many people feel stress because their lives don’t look the way they want them to. In this lesson, you’ll discover how to make peace with the present and experience joy because of it.

Get Organized with Small Acts of Decluttering by Samantha Pregenzer

Our environment can stress us out. But when we take the time to organize our surroundings, we feel more in control of our lives. Here’s how decluttering even small spaces can lead to bigger, more impactful changes.

Grow Your Confidence with Positive Visualization by Amanda Foust

When we feel like our goals are impossible, we’re tempted to quit on them. But thinking of ourselves as people who can do it gives us the confidence to keep trying, and today, we’ll look at how to develop that confident mindset.

Beat Procrastination with the “10 Minute Method” by Jill Wanderer

When we’re faced with a big list of stressors or to-dos, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Often, the best solution is the simplest: Just get started. Don’t think, don’t worry, just get to work. This lesson will help you do that.

Experience More Gratitude Through Journaling by Danielle Davis

When we think about sad things, we feel sad. When we think about scary things, we feel scared. When we think about things we’re thankful for, we feel thankful. Thoughts are powerful, and in this lesson, you’ll learn how to harness their power for good.

Calm Down Fast with a 16-Second Meditation by Kelly Page

Sometimes, we need a quick way to reset in moments of stress. In this lesson, you’ll learn a 16-second routine to help yourself calm down and recenter in stressful situations.

Eat Your Way to a Happier Mindset by Dr. Sarah Corcoran

Our minds and bodies are connected. And of the foods we eat can impact our mental wellbeing. In this lesson, you’ll learn about 5 foods that can help you boost your mindset.

Spot the Silver Linings and Feel More Peace by Alexx Stuart

Our happiness isn’t controlled by what happens to us. In many ways, it’s the product of how we choose to view our circumstances. Here’s a guide to help you reframe disappointment into more empowering thoughts and feelings.

Feel More in Control by Taking 100% Responsibility for your Happiness by Greg Denning

One of the most empowering realizations a person can come to is this: You are responsible for your own happiness. Even when your circumstances are bad, even when the people in your life are unfair and disrespectful, you still have the power to dramatically impact how you feel. And in this lesson, you’ll learn how to tap into that ability.

Become More Resilient by Shaking Off Bad Days by Kris McPeak

Some days stink, and we don’t want those days to derail us. Here’s a process to help you bounce back from a bad day and make tomorrow good.

Breathe Into Happiness and Optimism with this Morning Routine by Sandy Abrams

Sometimes, it’s the things we take for granted that have the power to change our lives. One such behavior is breathing. Simple breathing exercises can help you start every day with more optimism, and you’ll learn how that works in this lesson!

As you can see, there are a lot of good tips in here for a great price! I've reviewed my advance copy of the guide and I think it's going to be helpful for so many people; everyone should get this guide.

Also, if you buy early there's a great bonus: a one-year subscription to the Goodnewspaper, which is a $60 value all on its own. I'll keep you guys in the loop, but if you want to be notified directly from the source, use this link:

http://bit.ly/ultimatepositivemindset

The last thing I want to discuss is an offer to make you a little money on this product. If you become an affiliate and help us promote this guide, you can receive a commission on each sale. If you buy your own copy and sell five guides, you'll be refunded the cost of the guide you bought as well. There are also sometimes additional prizes for the highest-selling affiliates!

What's great about this company is that they offer "swipe files" of marketing copy and graphics you can use and customize to your personality, so you don't have to worry about coming up with advertising on your own. They also do video training. If you're new to affiliate marketing and want to give it a try, it's a great way to get your feet wet. Not to mention you will have opportunities to become an affiliate for future products. They always have something good in the works!

So if money is a little tight at the moment, this could be the ticket to getting some extra coin in your pocket. Have any interest? Use this link to become an affiliate: 

http://bit.ly/ubaffiliate

I hope everyone is doing well and being happy whenever possible. Take care!