How Minimalism Changed My Life: 5 Easy Habits for a Happier You

Today, I'm going to share how minimalism changed my life. How often do you wake up already feeling stressed? Thoughts roaring in your head?

Daily plans attack your nerves, and other people's voices are overpowering your own voice, trying to be more, accomplish more, and cope with more. You feel less. Less happy, less energetic, less alive.

Things don't have to be like this, and you don't have to live in a perfect little cabin in the woods or the mountains or spend money on some expensive retreat.

To change this, you can just keep it simple. I am going to share with you five habits that can help turn lessness into fullness.

Minimalism didn't make me financially rich or socially successful. It gave me something better - calmness, confidence, and focus.

1. Focus on one thing at a time

The popular belief is that tackling multiple tasks at once makes you more productive. But for most people, multitasking causes nothing but harm. It inevitably increases the levels of anxiety, stress, and confusion.

Think of this when we try to focus our sight on multiple things and see all the details at once, we see none. However, when we focus on just one thing at a time, we become slower but steadier. We get a complete picture.

Minimalism in activities can contribute to building more mindful working and leisure routines.

2. Update your intentions instead of planning

When in your head, you've built a perfectly curated plan for the future with all the smallest details and the result so real that you can almost touch it.

Do you remember how many of these big plans were actually brought to life? From my personal experience over the past five years, none of my plans were brought to life. Life is unpredictable, while planning takes a lot of time, energy, motivation, and emotions.

After all, I've wasted five years of perfect analytical planning for nothing. Now, instead of over-planning, I try to update my intentions.

I also have a list of my biggest and wildest dreams. I started this practice about two years ago, and so far, it helped me crystallize my values and define my path.

Also, it supported me even just emotionally in the most challenging times. Dreams bring more magic to our everyday lifestyle.

4. Appreciate the smaller things

The more I focus on smaller things that my everyday life is built from, the things that I have access to, the more grounded I feel, and the fear of missing out goes away.

We are constantly exposed to so much news. Other people's experiences offer opportunities that we easily get blind to what we have.

Instead, we spend more mental energy and money on getting something outside our possessions' existing circles. This is what the modern system wants us to do. It's just up to us whether to mindlessly swallow the bait or do otherwise.

Try to enter each new day with all your senses. This morning, the beautiful scent of lemon in my tea helped me make peace with the sleepless night and the heightened anxiety.

5. Stop chasing things

You don't have to chase material things all the time. Instead of focusing on physical or emotional possessions, try to notice how you change day to day, month to month, and year to year. It's you who decide to bring new life into an old item.

This habit is about gaining control back of new and old properties of things, and experiences are nothing but a very subjective matter. Remember this every time you are made to feel you need something new. If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.

How minimalism changed my life

Practicing these things is how minimalism changed my life. How has your life been affected by minimalism? Share your experiences in the comments below.