Minimalism for the Modern Mind: Declutter Your Life to Find Inner Peace

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So, how do you buy a smartphone?

It has become a challenge. And the same goes for a video or music platform subscription, a new car, and even washing machines!

The choices paralyze us. There are plenty of studies that demonstrate it. So minimalism and essentialism may be the few things that can make us escape.

The Paradox of Choice is a well-known phenomenon in marketing and behavioral studies. Here’s how it works.

When a new product gets on the market, buyers are happy as they see multiple versions of it. More versions mean different features and customizability. So everyone can find the product that better fits their needs.

Yet, as the choices increase, the buyers experience a drop in happiness and enthusiasm.

When you have so many products on the market, you are afraid to buy the wrong one. You may have underestimated their features. Or maybe that’s a better choice for a lower price.

Often, these questions overcrowd your head. You spend a lot of time making decisions. But all that internal dialogue is worthless. And you will lose time nobody will ever give you back.

Minimalism and essentialism are two practices that can help you f ight choice paralysis. They will save you time and declutter your life. But how do they work?

Minimalism and essentialism are two complementary ways of living that want to remove the clutter and simplify everything to the minimum.

Minimalism focuses more on external clutter. Over the past few years, it gained traction even outside the personal growth bubble.

On the contrary, essentialism focuses more on internal clutter. It’s less sellable but more efficient than its counterpart.

• It is less scalable because an “essential kitchen” seems to have some missing parts compared to a “minimal kitchen.”
• And more efficient because the way we think influences our actions. So, you will naturally transition into a minimal environment if you reduce your thoughts to the essentials.

So, the question becomes: how can I embrace essentialism and find inner peace? And what are the long-term benefits of this discipline?

Good. You want to embrace essentialism and minimalism. That’s already a good start. But what are the steps you have to follow to do that?

• First, you must understand how to break the decision paralysis.
• Then, reject the idea that you can do everything you want.
• Live by design. Create a clear decision-making rule and use it to filter the noise.
• And create a system for evaluating any new opportunities.

You can’t approach essentialism if you don’t understand the decision paralysis first.

As always, you will fight better if you know your enemy’s weak points. And if you look at the graphic of the cycle, there are a lot of weak points where you can break the cycle. 

However, there’s a strategy that helped me more than anything else – time-bounding.

When I have to make a decision, I define a time block of a maximum of two days. By doing that, I still have time to research the alternatives. But I reduce the time for overthinking and second thoughts.

I always thought I could do everything I wanted to do. And I tried that many times with my hobbies.

But in reality, you don’t have time to do everything. Or better, you may have the time. But you won’t become good at it, and surely not the best.

Do you want to play an instrument? Then you don’t have time for a side hustle. You must give up one of the options or do both and be mediocre at both.

So, reject the idea you can do everything you wish. You can’t. You have to focus on your priorities first and only do other things if there’s time left.

Life’s tough when you don’t know where you’re going.

When you feel the excitement of something new, you give up everything to jump into it. But, in the long run, this behavior ruins your consistency and long-term plans .

Usually, I can’t avoid exciting things to try. But lately, I’ve been using a rule that helps me control part of that excitement.

• First, I score every new idea between 0 and 100 based on my priorities.
• If the score is above 90, I try it a few times (usually a week).
• Then, I rate the idea again.
• The idea becomes a new opportunity if the score is above 90 again.

Every time an idea passes the first anti-clutter test, go deeper. You must know if that’s something worth pursuing.

Making a choice is often challenging. But you have to do it. Otherwise, you will fill up your days with clutter, and your productivity will decline.

First of all, remember these three key concepts:

• You are the only one that can do it.
• The world is 90% clutter.
• And you must accept tradeoffs.

Then, you can proceed with the New Opportunity Test.

• Write the new opportunity on a piece of paper.
• Find three minimum criteria the option needs to pass.
• Then, write three extreme criteria the opportunity needs to pass.
• If the opportunity passes both ranks, you can put it on your schedule. But you have to remove something else in exchange.

Essentialism and minimalism are two sides of the same coin. They are the realization that 90% of what surrounds you is clutter.

• 90% of your belongings.
• And 90% of your activities.

So, embracing essentialism and minimalism implies two activities:

• First, you clear your current situation and only keep top life priorities.
• And then, you build a protective shield for every new opportunity that comes next.

ESSENTIALISM

• Clarity and purpose: it helps you focus on what matters by prioritizing the most important tasks and goals.
• Increased productivity: when you eliminate non-essential tasks, you can concentrate better on the remaining ones.
• Better decision-making: you learn to say “no” to less important commitments.

MINIMALISM

• Reduces clutter: you live in a more organized and aesthetic environment.
• Financial benefits: you cut on unnecessary things and save money instead of spending them.
• Simplified daily routines: you get distracted by fewer things and become more consistent.

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