Today I watched a documentary in Netflix called The Minimalists and I realized one of the keys to living a great, fulfilled life is TRIMMING DOWN YOUR WANTS.
All of us have wants. In fact, that’s where 90% of our purchases go. Wants not needs.
We have little wants – like what to specifically eat for lunch or the shoes you want to wear today – and there are huge wants: like the desire to finally get married, have financial confidence to retire, and undergo surgery for a better looking nose.
Most of our energies are spent on wants, and they’re even the wrong ones sometimes.
Then we strive towards these wants and the longer we take, our emotional investments accumulate, and along the way, we “want” other things too.
Then it’s nothing but an exhausting perpetual chase.
This morning while I was at the gym and zoning out, I realized how we can easily increase our happiness and peace in life by just trimming down our wants and getting to the bottom of what we really are striving for.
The key is to keep asking WHY you want something until you get to the bottom of it.
For ex:
I want that Hermes bag. Why?
I want to look nice, rich, and successful. Why?
I want to look like that to other people. Why?
I want external validation of wealth and success. Why?
I want to raise my personal feelings of rewards from all of my achievements. Why?
I want to confirm if all of it is worth it. Why?
…and so on. TRY it! And you’ll experience a deeper sense of self-awareness.
I used to want this nice red SUV. Then I realized that I just want to “look better”, but didn’t really need it.
Your wants may actually be illogical.
Your wants may change from time to time.
Your wants may not be worth the trouble.
So learn to trim them down so you can hurt less, focus on other healthier ways to get the end result, and live a more fulfilled life.
So how trimming down your wants can help your business?
Those that advocate the minimalist approach highlight its freeing nature: with less around and less going on, there is more freedom to do what brings actual value to your life and business.
“The point of minimalism is that more isn’t always better,” said Paul Jarvis, a designer and author who offers minimalism workshops for online businesses. “Sometimes more simply means larger. Sometimes enough is better.”
Contrary to popular belief, minimalism is not simply a case of ridding yourself of your possessions, moving into a so-called tiny house, having a 30-piece ‘capsule’ wardrobe or living a nomadic lifestyle.
“Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value by removing anything that distracts us from it. Please notice, minimalism is not about reducing the amount of everything. Quite the opposite: it is about reducing distractions to maximize more important pursuits.”
Minimalism also enables companies to develop unique offerings, deep expertise and a truly bespoke customer experience, all of which foster a competitive edge over rivals.
Be so happy and content other people will wonder what you’re taking.
If they ask, just tell then you’re TAKING responsibility for your own happiness.
To a better you,
Gary
P.S. Do you agree? Have you tried trimming down your wants before? How did it feel?
- DIY Chicken Wire Jewelry Holder - June 27, 2022
- Jewelry Designer Manager Alternative - December 8, 2019
- 3 Tips To Immediately Boost Your Sales Today - May 12, 2019