<ul><li>Freedom from fear. </li><li>Freedom from worry. </li><li>Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. </li><li>Freedom from depression. </li><li>Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. </li><li>Real freedom.</li></ul>

Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom

<ul><li>That doesn’t mean there’s anything inherently wrong with owning material possessions. </li><li>Be concious on the meaning we assign to our stuff.</li><li>Want to own a car or a house? Great, have at it! Want to raise a family and have a career? </li><li>If these things are important to you, then that’s wonderful.</li><li>Minimalism simply allows you to make these decisions more consciously, more deliberately. </li></ul>

Conscious Decision Making 

Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.

What is Minimalism?

<ul><li>Eliminate our discontent</li><li>Reclaim our time</li><li>Live in the moment</li><li>Pursue our passions</li><li>Discover our missions</li><li>Experience real freedom</li><li>Create more, consume less</li><li>Focus on our health</li><li>Grow as individuals</li><li>Contribute beyond ourselves</li><li>Rid ourselves of excess stuff</li><li>Discover purpose in our lives</li></ul>

Benefits of Minimalism

By incorporating minimalism into our lives, we’ve finally been able to find lasting happiness—and that’s what we’re all looking for, isn’t it? We all want to be happy. Minimalists search for happiness not through things, but through life itself; thus, it’s up to you to determine what is necessary and what is superfluous in your life.

Lasting Happiness through Minimalism

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Personal Development

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So what is this <a href="http://theminimalists.com/pitch">minimalism </a>thing? It’s quite simple: to be a minimalist you must live with less than 100 things, you can’t own a car or a home or a television, you can’t have a career, you must live in exotic hard-to-pronounce places all over the world, you must start a blog, you can’t have children, and you must be <a href="http://theminimalists.com/rich">a young white male from a privileged background </a>.

OK, we’re joking—obviously. But people who dismiss minimalism as some sort of fad usually mention any of the above “restrictions” as to why they could “never be a minimalist.” <a href="https://www.theminimalists.com/not/">Minimalism isn’t about any of those things </a>, but it can help you accomplish them. If you desire to live with fewer material possessions, or not own a car or a television, or travel all over the world, then minimalism can lend a hand. But that’s not the point.

Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom. Freedom from fear. Freedom from worry. Freedom from overwhelm. Freedom from guilt. Freedom from depression. Freedom from the trappings of the consumer culture we’ve built our lives around. Real freedom.

That doesn’t mean there’s anything inherently wrong with owning material possessions. Today’s problem seems to be the meaning we assign to our stuff: we tend to give too much meaning to our things, often forsaking our health, our relationships, our passions, our personal growth, and our desire to contribute beyond ourselves. Want to own a car or a house? Great, have at it! Want to raise a family and have a career? If these things are important to you, then that’s wonderful. Minimalism simply allows you to make these decisions more consciously, more deliberately.

There are plenty of successful minimalists who lead appreciably different lives. Our friend <a href="http://zenhabits.net/about">Leo Babauta </a>has a wife and six children. <a href="http://becomingminimalist.com/about">Joshua Becker </a>has a career he enjoys, a family he loves, and a house and a car in suburbia. Conversely, <a href="http://exilelifestyle.com/about">Colin Wright </a>owns 51 things and travels all over the world, and <a href="http://rowdykittens.com/portfolio/">Tammy Strobel </a>and her husband live in a “tiny house” and are completely car-free. Even though each of these people are different, they all share two things in common: they are minimalists, and minimalism has allowed them to pursue purpose-driven lives.

But how can these people be so different and yet still be minimalists? That brings us back to our original question: What is minimalism? If we had to sum it up in a single sentence, we would say, Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.

<ul><li>Eliminate our discontent </li><li>Reclaim our time </li><li>Live in the moment </li><li>Pursue our passions </li><li>Discover our missions </li><li>Experience real freedom </li><li>Create more, consume less </li><li>Focus on our health </li><li>Grow as individuals </li><li>Contribute beyond ourselves </li><li>Rid ourselves of excess stuff </li><li>Discover purpose in our lives </li> </ul>

By incorporating minimalism into our lives, we’ve finally been able to find lasting happiness—and that’s what we’re all looking for, isn’t it? We all want to be happy. Minimalists search for happiness not through things, but through life itself; thus, it’s up to you to determine what is necessary and what is superfluous in your life.

Through our essays we intend to present to you ideas of how to achieve a minimalist lifestyle without adhering to a strict code or an arbitrary set of rules. A word of warning, though: it isn’t easy to take the first steps, but your journey towards minimalism gets much easier—and more rewarding—the further you go. The first steps often take radical changes in your mindset, actions, and habits. Fret not, though—we want to help: we’ve documented our experiences so you can learn from our failures and successes, applying what we’ve learned to your own situation, assisting you in leading a more meaningful life.

This is just our take on minimalism. For more, read our <a href="http://theminimalists.com/pitch">minimalism elevator pitch </a>, as well as some of our friends’ explanations of minimalism:

<ul><li>Leo Babauta’s <a href="http://mnmlist.com/minimalist-faqs/">Description of Minimalism </a> </li><li>Joshua Becker’s <a href="http://www.becomingminimalist.com/benefits-of-minimalism/">Benefits of Minimalism </a> </li><li>Courtney Carver’s <a href="http://bemorewithless.com/25-reasons-you-might-be-a-minimalist/">25 Reasons You Might Be a Minimalist </a> </li><li>Colin Wright’s <a href="http://exilelifestyle.com/minimalism-explained/">Minimalism Explained </a> </li> </ul>

Learn how to start a blog in less than an hour. Follow the step-by-step instructions we used when starting our blog, which now has reached more than 20 million people. Creating this blog is one of the best decisions Ryan and I ever made. After all, our blog is how we earn a living. More important, it's how we add value to other people's lives. <a href="https://www.theminimalists.com/blog/">Read more </a>

Let's play a simple game together. We call it the 30-Day Minimalism Game. Find a friend, family member, or coworker who's willing to minimize their stuff with you next month. <a href="https://www.theminimalists.com/game/">Read more </a>

We are all writers now. Whether you write books, blog posts, emails, Instagram captions, or text messages, you are a writer. No matter your preferred medium, here are a few tips to help you write more effectively. <a href="https://www.theminimalists.com/eleven/">Read more </a>

Download our 16 rules for living with less in this beautifully designed ebook.

What Is Minimalism? | The Minimalists

Minimalism is a tool that can assist you in finding freedom

Conscious Decision Making

What is Minimalism?

Benefits of Minimalism

Lasting Happiness through Minimalism

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