Up Your Self Improvement Game by Embracing Minimalism
Embracing Minimalism Is a Very Powerful Way to Improve Your Life
If you study the lives of people who are happy, content, and healthy, you'll often find that their lives are simple and spartan.
Meaning they tend to focus on the things that actually matter, such as good health, strong relationships, and living within their means.
So let’s dive into the article and discuss this in more detail.
#1 Rent Rather Than Own
When it comes to keeping your life simple and spartan, one of the best things you can do is rent rather than own, and there there are a few reasons why.
First, renting provides flexibility. As a renter, you have mobility and are not tied down like a homeowner. For example, if you're offered a job in another part of the country, you can simply pack your bags and leave.
Renters enjoy a level of freedom that homeowners, with a mortgage, don't have.
The second reason renting is preferable is that it involves less responsibility, which translates to less stress. For instance, if a boiler breaks down, homeowners are 100% responsible for fixing it.
As a renter, however, this is the landlord's responsibility.
Renting not only reduces stress but also saves time and money, on repairs for things that naturally break.
The third reason renting is better is that it requires significantly less financial commitment. When you rent, you typically only need to provide a security deposit and the first month's rent.
In contrast, purchasing a home requires a substantial down payment.
Personally, I’d rather spend my money on experiences or invest that money in index funds, rather than lock it away in property equity.
#2 Drive an Old Reliable Car
When it comes to keeping your life simple and Spartan, you will often find that owning an old, reliable car is a much better experience.
Why?
It’s better for your mental health.
When you own an old, reliable car, you feel zero attachment to it, which is psychologically freeing.
This freedom comes from two factors:
The car is old
You probably didn’t spend much money on it.
For example, if you crash that car, it doesn’t matter because it’s old and inexpensive.
You could even park that car in a dangerous part of town, and if it gets robbed, it doesn’t matter—it’s practically worthless anyway.
You could spill coffee all over the seats, and again, it doesn’t matter.
This is psychologically freeing.
Now, let's compare this to owning a super-expensive car, because just like homeownership, an expensive car costs a lot of money, which means it’s very unlikely that most people are going to be able to buy it outright.
So, what people do is drop some money down and then you go on a payment plan.
Now they have to make payments each and every month, and this takes away your freedom because you’re now in debt.
So in contrast, owning a new car is way more stress.
Stressful in the sense that because you spent a lot of money on it, you now have an emotional attachment to it.
So, if you bump or crash that car, it would probably stress you the hell out.
If you spilt coffee on the seats, again, it would stress you the hell out.
Owning a new car is not freedom.
#3 Improve Your Information Diet
A very good way to look at information is to compare it to food.
So with regards to food there’s junk food, which tastes good but isn’t very healthy, and there are nutrient-dense foods, which are great for you but often don’t taste as good.
These nutrient-dense foods though are what your body craves and NEEDS to function optimally. Similarly, the information you consume can impact your mental and emotional health.
When you improve your information diet, you’ll find that you think more clearly and make better decisions.
So, let’s discuss the information diet of the average person.
The average person consumes mainstream media, spends hours a day on social media, and watches content on platforms like Netflix.
So in the food sense, they’re consuming little more than fluff and empty calories, which in the long run doesn’t benefit them at all.
#4 Keep Your Friendship Circle Small
What I’ve personally found in my own life is that keeping my friendship circle small leads to less bullshit—meaning less drama, less negativity, and less conflict. You see, all you really need is 3 to 5 close friends.
You don’t NEED any more than that. Notice I use the word need.
You see, when you have a small friendship circle, what you’ll actually find is that your bonds are stronger.
And the reason why is you spend more time with these people.
Now, let’s contrast this with Mr. Popular and, let’s say Mr. Popular has 30 friends.
Because his friendship circle is so big, he goes longer periods without seeing the people in his inner circle.
Meaning less time to bond, and we all know that time and shared experiences are what bring people closer together.
#5 Choose the Right Woman
As an adult, here are your 3 biggest decisions:
Where you choose to live
What you choose to do for a living
The woman you choose to marry
You see the woman you share your life with holds a tremendous amount of power. If you choose the right woman, you can figuratively speaking, move mountains.
You can get far in life, she will be your biggest supporter; however, if you choose the wrong woman, she can drag you down.
When it comes to long-term relationships, you're not just evaluating her genetics but also her psychology.
So what is her mood like most of the time?
How does she respond to stress?
Because these factors will provide significant insight into how she might mother your future children.