Top 10 Minimalist Living Tips - #7
Note: In this series of posts, I will share the 10 most valuable minimalist living tips that I have learned in the past four years. These guidelines are helping me a lot in my continuous walk in the path of simplicity, and I would like to share them with you. At the end of the series, I will gather them all together for a synopsis.
Minimalist Living Tip #7: Learn to let go to have more time.
The most common excuse of people that aren’t able to do the things they really love is they don’t have the time.
So many people actually feel this way.
They want to write a book or run every day or eat healthier meals, but for some reason they were already comfortable with the status quo and are settling on not pursuing what they are really passionate about.
Again, the usual alibi: I don’t have the time.
What does this really mean, “I don’t have the time?” Let’s take a closer look:
- He doesn’t know what he really wants, and so he just let things be even if he is not happy about them.
- He knows what he wants, but chooses not to achieve them.
- He knows what he wants, but he is afraid to let go of the familiar and afraid to take risks.
- He knows what he wants, but just have too many things to do.
What I mean by the best things are the best things specifically for you, and may not be the same with anyone else.
Minimalism made me realize what is really important to me, and that I have to let go of things that are not so important if I want to have more time with my most important.
Time VS Money
When I quit my corporate job more than a year ago, somehow I was trying to prioritize one resource over another. I didn’t know it then, but when I look back, I realize that I valued time over money.
Some people may disagree, but for me, time is actually man’s most valuable resource, not money.
Money is man-made, but no one can create time. We all have 24 hours in a day, and no one has more or less.
We can spend all our money in one day, but can earn it again eventually afterwards. However, I don’t know anyone who have found a way to recover lost time.
You can always check in the internet how much balance you have left in your account, but nobody knows how much time you have left to live.
Letting go
We have unconsciously filled our days with things that we think we needed to do. I used to heavily play computer games before I became a minimalist because I thought I needed it to relieve the stress I acquired from such a demanding type of work.
It wasn’t long before I realized that there was something wrong. I was spending more time with other people and on playing video games than with the things that matter to me most, like my family and writing.
So then I realized that if I stop doing this activity, I could spend more time with the things that I love most.
This constant prioritizing led me to let go even some important things to really focus on my core values.
Eventually, as I’ve already mentioned, it came to the point that I had to let go of my job to pursue my real passion in life, which is writing.
The result: I’ve achieved my lifelong dream of becoming a published author when I launched my first book last December 2013 and I am now working professionally as a freelance writer, ghostwriter, author, and blogger.
Top 10 Minimalist Living Tips
Money is man-made, but no one can create time. We all have 24 hours in a day, and no one has more or less.
We can spend all our money in one day, but can earn it again eventually afterwards. However, I don’t know anyone who have found a way to recover lost time.
You can always check in the internet how much balance you have left in your account, but nobody knows how much time you have left to live.
Letting go
We have unconsciously filled our days with things that we think we needed to do. I used to heavily play computer games before I became a minimalist because I thought I needed it to relieve the stress I acquired from such a demanding type of work.
It wasn’t long before I realized that there was something wrong. I was spending more time with other people and on playing video games than with the things that matter to me most, like my family and writing.
So then I realized that if I stop doing this activity, I could spend more time with the things that I love most.
This constant prioritizing led me to let go even some important things to really focus on my core values.
Eventually, as I’ve already mentioned, it came to the point that I had to let go of my job to pursue my real passion in life, which is writing.
The result: I’ve achieved my lifelong dream of becoming a published author when I launched my first book last December 2013 and I am now working professionally as a freelance writer, ghostwriter, author, and blogger.
Top 10 Minimalist Living Tips
- #10 - Do not adhere to any preconceived rules
- # 9 - Find your own path in the vast minimalism spectrum
- # 8 - Apply minimalist principles gradually
- # 7 - Learn to let go to have more time
- # 6 - Do less to do better
- # 5 - Less stuff equals more freedom
- # 4 - Live in the moment
- # 3 - Establish priorities to be able to say no
- # 2 - Live with contentment
- # 1 - Simplify to discover purpose, focus, and leave a lasting impact
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