Yesterday I finished reading ‘Goodbye, Things‘, which I found to be a quick and enjoyable read on minimalism. I’m happy to find another book on the subject, since I find it useful to read (or reread) one every six months or so. It’s like a fresh blast of inspiration to declutter, clean, and optimize my life.
But I think the true power of minimalism is in the mindset shift that follows. Because once you start to appreciate the power of less – the idea can start to spread, benefitting parts of your life far beyond physical objects.
Finding happiness through reduction
Let me preface this by saying that happiness, like many words, is kinda bullshit.
So this post is actually about finding passion(s), a general sense of contentment, or perhaps a mild but stable sense of enjoyment in life. Things that I think are real and attainable – rather than some inflated notion of ‘happiness’ that tries to promise us an unbounded state of ecstasy.
Happiness is a myth . . . It was invented to make us buy things.
– Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram
Something I once heard that stuck with me is that happiness is the difference between expectations and reality… So maybe it’s having an unrealistic expectation for ‘happiness’ that sets us up for failure in the first place.
Anyway…