How to Be a Minimalist

Feeling confused and lacking direction in your life? Our modern-day push for MORE can often cause more problems than it solves. Strip it down using these minimalist techniques, and remember what matters in your life.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Make a list of the possessions you can't live without. Be brutally honest: everything non-essential is just another weight dragging you down. Now look around your home. How close is it to this ideal?
2. Pack up and store as many non-essentials as you can comfortably live without. You'll be amazed at how much clearer your thought process becomes when your surroundings follow suit.
3. Repeat the steps listed above at six-month intervals. The goal is similar to an exercising regimen: cutting out all the excess to discover the core of your life. The less you need, the more self-reliant you become.
4. Bring this outlook into the other facets of your life. Gradually pare down your food intake during meal times in accordance with your body's signals. Chew completely and swallow before preparing another bite, and drink plenty of water.
5. The hardest area to apply minimalism to, and arguably the the most rewarding, is your social life. Is your loved one feeding the essential parts of yourself? What about your friends? Cutting out toxic people, or glorified acquaintances may seem harsh at the time, but remember this: our value in society isn't measured by the quantity of people around us, but the quality of the relationships cultivated.