Ask any architect, designer, writer, director or public speaker - what separates a good piece, relationship, and item from a not-so-good one?
You will likely get one answer: Simplicity.
Something that many people fear. What may seem like a void. Something that can cause a feeling of coldness. Something that perhaps scares and seems boring.
...Because how is it possible to live happily with less? Fewer goals, things, friends, inspiring dreams, or endless self-improvement articles here and on other "must-have" portals?
How can simplicity save your life... If it seems so foreign?
Let me try to answer.
What do I call simplicity?
Here are two illustrations. The first one:
And the second:
The author of both illustrations is Eglė Čečenikovaitė.
There is simplicity in Vienna. Minimalism. Gentle, light and calm. Simplicity.
do you recognize
I hope so. However, let me compare simplicity and chaos with the help of scientific research:
- Chaos is more. Simplicity is less.
- Clutter is depressing. Simplicity brings happiness.
- The abundance of choices is overwhelming. Simplicity makes life possible.
- The possibilities are a distraction. Simplicity helps you focus.
- Shopping impoverishes. Simplicity enriches.
- Abundance of wealth imprisons. Simplicity is liberating.
I discovered the philosophy of simplicity over three years ago. And since then she has been taking me more and more.
It slowly became my outlook on life.
...Business, creativity, relationships, shopping, nutrition, sports. And many more. I even spent the whole thing recently a book about the benefits of Conscious Laziness and Simplicity for our health, positive attitude, ability to enjoy.
In English, the simplicity movement is called Minimalism. However, for now, in Lithuanian, this phrase is included in dictionaries only as an art form, so I choose a Lithuanian and understandable word - Simplicity.
For now, I'm trying to find a better word for it myself. 🙂
What is simplicity for and does it help you live better?
Here are some examples of people who follow the path of simplicity with me. If none of the issues below bother you, maybe you don't need simplicity.
Because this approach is for:
- For those who do not manage to finish their work on time, even though they try very hard.
- For those who don't choose which future they want most out of hundreds of possible choices. 1
- For those who work a lot, but earn (and earn) little.
- For those who don't feel happy and only feel sadness.
- For those who complain that they have little money.
- For those who care about ecology and living nature. 2
- For those who want to leave something impressive after their inevitable death, rather than doing hundreds of worthless jobs. 3
- For those for whom the most important thing is a sincere, open relationship.
- For those who want peace.
- For those who don't like mess and chaos.
- For those for whom something is simply too much.
Do you belong to at least one of these groups? Then read on.
Three basic rules of minimalism:
There are only three rules. And they are very simple. (Unexpected, isn't it?)
- You already have enough. You don't need another toy from the nearest store or another good dream to find happiness. Because happiness does not lie in things, dreams or other possessions. 4
- Simplicity is happiness. If something causes you suffering, sadness or trouble, you don't need it. Let go of everything that is bad and that way there will be room for happiness, joy and peace.
- Simplicity is a journey. This is not a list of rules you must follow. These are not overly detailed steps to "enlightenment." It's your personal choices and your lifestyle. 5
Everything! What you will do, what you will do, where you will stop or what you will achieve - it is only YOUR choice. And no one can tell you what to do, how much to have, what to buy and what not to. Magic numbers and restrictions do not apply.
It's just a personal way of life, not a religion. 😉
It's... Um... Give me examples!
Well, but I'm talking, talking... And it's probably not easy to understand what exactly I'm suggesting, right? Let me show you some examples from my life, my friends' lives and my heroes' lives.
Idea 1: Keep 33 clothes and always have something to wear.
This idea is for you if: You spend a lot of money on clothes, but you still have nothing to wear; you would like to dress stylishly and beautifully.
Project 333: 33 clothes, every 3 months, for one year. A challenge that encourages you to choose only the clothes you wear that fit and you like. Because everyone else is 6 are not required. You should notice it.
This project is designed for women, but is also suitable for men. Especially if your closet is cosmic in size and space is still not enough.
More: Page 333 of the project and Lithuanian Živile's reviews.
Idea 2: Buy more expensive things and spend less euros.
This idea is for you if: TopShop and Norfa are your favorite stores; want to live in luxury; want to save euros.
All my life, I heard the saying from my grandparents: "A sting pays twice."
And now that I am starting to live without my parents, I understand that this is true. No amount of money is worth the health and time lost to poor quality tools, clothing, medicine, home care products or the home itself. 7
More: One of the best I've read texts on this topic, you can be inspired by mine for you the challenge of minimalism and this TED talk:
(There are also subtitles in Lithuanian.)
Idea 3: Stop counting money and get your finances in order.
This idea is for you if: Managing personal finances seems like a scary monster, so avoid it very much; don't want to count your money at all.
You don't need to win 90 million euros to be able to not worry about your monthly expenses and not be in permanent debt to payday loan companies or friends.
Instead, you can focus on what's most important and:
- Without counting money, just don't buy what you don't need;
- And if you have debts, pay them off as soon as possible before they drag you through the nine circles of hell.
More: family man who got rid of over 100 thousand euro debts, a blog.
Idea 4: Stop setting new goals for yourself and start working.
This idea is for you if: You have hundreds of dreams, desires and goals, but you can't achieve any of them.
Although I love to talk about new goals and challenges, 8 you should understand that one finished job is better than fifteen started. Even if you'll "finish" those fifteen.
More: Try it River philosophy, and then choose what suits you carries the most.
Idea 5: Exercise like a caveman and look like Conan the Barbarian.
This idea is for you if: You want to do sports, but you don't know where to start; gyms seem too complicated.
I don't know who put it into our heads that in order to have good health, it is necessary to go to gyms equipped with millions of machines or buy vibrating chairs from TopShop.
How do you think gladiators prepared for their fights in the coliseum? Or did distant ancestors skin lions and mammoths twice the size of elephants with just a sharpened piece of wood?
More: Caveman fitness plan and how to build a gym with five liters of milk.
And so on...
I could name and name. Why is it best to give up "friends" who do not give anything good, 9 how is it possible to spend just 10 euros on food per week when eating vegan, why simplicity is good when traveling or creating businesses...
...But then this story of simplicity would become less simple. 🙂
Therefore, it will be enough for the first time. And if you'd like to read more, I recommend these pages on a simpler lifestyle:
Minimalism: Today's Philosophy
When the world becomes so complicated, there is only one way to make it simpler for yourself. It may be more difficult than sitting and suffering in your current state, but the results will pay off the effort.
If until now you only wanted more, I encourage you to look at the world with different eyes. Accept it as it is. And try to live more simply.
Like my friend Valtiniks once said:
Simplicity is like throwing rocks out of the bag of a hot air balloon so you can go up and spread far.
Why not do it today?
Are you in school? Are you studying? Want to quit a psychologically killing job? Yes - you know, if that's you.↩
Technically speaking, everything is nature. You, me, our cars... It came about through evolution. But here I'm more referring to centuries-old forests, hundreds of thousands of years of life and clean water, land and air. It is easy to destroy, but still technically difficult to restore.↩
We remember people who followed the principles of Simplicity. Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis or Chiune Sugihara were one such people.↩
You create it for yourself. But more on that in a moment.↩
Yes, this applies to these three rules as well.↩
And which you would normally spend hundreds of euros on↩
I swear, LED lighting and a good heating boiler were probably two of the best investments I ever made. I spend only 5 euros per month on electricity (!!!), including the operation of the induction hob. For heating in winter - about 15 euros per month. Of course, I live alone, but still... And it's a 50-square-meter house. 🙂↩
Hey! Challenge lists... You must have noticed. 😉↩
And only habits to smoke together.↩
Really liked this article. It really makes you wonder what is important to everyone and how little is needed to become a happy person...
Just stop prioritizing unadulterated consumption ….
...And to stop loading insignificant wealth into the house!
*gives Jade a lightning bolt*
I liked the article too. But here are more general guidelines. I'd like to know more about what you, Daniel, specifically changed on your way to simplicity.
Ooo! There is a lot to tell, and if you really want to, I will definitely write about it in more detail. But now you can see the idea in this interview I gave about the former workroom: http://www.e-interjeras.lt/danielius-debesyla-ir-jo-namai.html (the existing one can still be seen in my Instagram and Facebook photos, @debesyla.lt and @debesyla, respectively), and I also talk about the rules I apply in my book: https://debesyla.lt/tinginio-manifestas/
There were a lot of changes and they were a lot of fun!
Genius always lies in simplicity. The most interesting are ordinary people, because they live in depth, not in the breadth of things.
After all, a person doesn't need a lot, and who wants a lot - it's just a desire to show off!!!! I liked it and stuck to it without watching the movie Forest Gump...well, maybe I didn't repeat it exactly for the footer
lb liked this article. It really makes you wonder what is important to everyone and how little is needed to become a happy person...
Just stop prioritizing unadulterated consumption ….
I think minimalism is a very good thing, stop carrying the baggage of things, work, unfulfilled dreams, etc. on your shoulders. And when you start to cleanse yourself, new things come, not yet experienced.
How beautifully you said it! :3
I started downsizing my closet during the day and read this great article in the evening. We
hello 🙂 I am very interested in how you propose to live vegan for 10 euros for a week. I would like you to share this experience. 🙂 I have tried something similar, for a couple of months, spending only 13 lt per day on food (mainly green food), I managed to save. 😀 🙂
Market, market, market. For groats and rice - Maximos. And it is advised not to live in Vilnius 🙂
Thank you, Daniel. 🙂
I remember when I had to leave everything and go to England, live in a small room and have little things. I liked it very much, I thought that's all, from now on I'll live like this, but.. the family started, children and endless things. The idea is really worthy of attention. Thanks for sharing. I'm going to clean the closet 🙂
Minimalism is a very good word and should be followed. I am against the Lithuanianization of every new term. Vlkk is anti-minimalist and crams a lot of unnecessary terms into the language
It seems to me that minimalism does not quite describe the thought we are talking about. I myself and in my About section define "Minimalism or Simplicity or Functional Approach" as one of the core values of the blog. I couldn't decide which statement fit better, so I left them all 😀
The problem with Minimalism is that it is a complicated word. And complex words are against the principles of simplicity (or minimalism). 🙂
See whatever Leo Babauta does not use the word Minimalism himself, but uses Simple. For the same reason. Only in Lithuanian does this complexity/difference become apparent. 😉
In Lithuanian, simple is very close to ordinary/standard/boring. Minimalism (the western version of it) is something new. People love innovation. Even if that innovation is something simple wrapped in new clothes.
Minimalism is a broader term than simplicity or Simple, yes. The Zen garden is simple and minimalistic. Instagram is minimalist, but not simple.
Simple is a 6 letter word. Minimalism is a 10-letter word 🙂 In Lithuanian, this difference disappears. I think the question about the name remains open 🙂 For this reason, there was no desire to translate the Bible for a long time, and the translated Koran is not the same - as time passes, the subtle meanings of the words are digested. New ones appear - coming with a new language. I have always fought and will fight for the fact that first define the phenomenon, and then look for a name for it, not the surface. Debesyla expressed her idea - it's time for her to come up with a name together 🙂
Lux. I take my hat off to Valtininek for his aim to define the phenomenon first.
In this excessive world, where everything is too much, simplicity and naturalness are a great value.
It seems to me that someone commented here a long time ago.