Minimalist Living: 7 Reasons Why Living with Less Brings More Happiness

Our ultimate aim is to be happy in life. However, sometimes we adopt a lifestyle that defeats this purpose. A minimalist living helps not only to attain happiness in life but also to make it more enjoying, less stressful and more healthy. Here are the reasons why living with less is a more sensible and better approach to life. ~ Ed.

When most people think of happiness, they think of a luxury lifestyle with a wardrobe taken right out of Carrie Bradshaw’s home or a maybe red speeding Ferrari.

But if you ask people who won the lottery, money does not make them any happier. In fact, the more possessions you own, the more stressful you are likely to be.

Actually, living with less makes more sense to be the way to bring happiness into your life.

You might have heard of the term minimalism. When thinking of a minimalist, most people imagine people living with just bare necessities. That’s not entirely true.

In fact, that’s a myth about minimalist living and it needs a proper understanding. I’m not talking about extreme minimalist living.

Minimalists are actually people living with less because they realize that it makes them happier. You can have possessions that bring you happiness but “more possessions” do not necessarily translate to “more happiness”.

Here’s how living with less concept works.

6 Reasons Why Minimalist Living Brings You More Happiness

Less is more sounds like a paradox but it rightly suggests that there is value in simplicity and that complicity makes life difficult. Let’s understand how and why happiness is associated with the minimalist approach to life.

The fewer things you have the more you love them

As you start collecting more stuff, you divide your love between your many possessions. You don’t get the time to enjoy everything that you do have. You ignore them mostly because you are focused on earning more to buy more.

Remember the first cell phone that you bought. Whether you bought it from your own money, or your parents gave it to you, it’s quite likely you still remember that moment. And the joy it gave you.

With the second one, you probably didn’t experience the same thing of joy. And this feeling of joy keeps diminishing the more you have the same experiences.

To experience those first few emotions associated with buying the product, you then buy more. But rather than making you happy, it makes you stressful.

This is why minimalist living helps you enjoy life more and be happy.

Having more stuff makes you stressful

Data suggests that the average American family is stressed about the clutter in their home.

People’s homes, especially their garages, are filling with stuff they don’t use. Some even don’t have the space to park their cars!

It’s easier to buy in bulk or be swayed by seasonal sales. But in the end, people don’t know what to do with this stuff. Dealing with all stuff on a regular basis makes them stressful.

On the other hand, living with less stuff and de-cluttering your house and mind will help you attain more happiness.

Indeed, minimalist living does help minimize your stress in life.

With less clutter your space is more cleaner

It might be hard to let go of your stuff, but when you do then your eyes will find the sight so much calmer. With fewer things in the house, you have more space to walk around.

Your mind feels relaxed. You don’t have to go in a cleaning frenzy every time someone announces they are going to visit. You can have guests drop in whenever they like.

With all the clutter gone, now you spend less time cleaning the house. This means more time for yourself and your loved ones.

No doubt minimalist living or living with minimal possessions is the key for maximal happiness in life.

Fewer things mean fewer expenses

Once you realize you don’t need to have ten pants, five coats and endless amount of tees and dresses, you don’t feel inclined to shop more often.

There will always be a sale sign when you hit the mall, but limiting yourself to fewer clothes means that you won’t end up throwing all your income into things that you already have.

You spend less money. You can pay off your debts, and finally start saving. There are lots of options out there but high yield savings accounts are the best way to grow your savings.

That is why minimalist living with less stuff is more beneficial in the long run.

Less stress means better health

In this era of consumerism, people often feel pressured to buy more stuff. They see their friends and family owning and buying more stuff. They feel that they have to do the same, in order to feel included.

But as we scramble to buy more, we need more money. This means putting more hours on the job and spending less time enjoying your life.

Eventually, your stress levels go higher. You end with up with poor health.

Plus, when you have more stuff, your home is a mess. All this mess invites all kinds of dirt and germs to your home. This might lead you to get sick more often.

However, minimalist living helps keep both your house and mind clean and healthy.

You are in control of your life with fewer possessions

If you are one of those people who hit the mall as soon as their salary comes in, you might not realize it but you are letting things to control your life.

You might even end up spending more than you wanted to. You could be running high on your credit card bills. There’s also a chance that you are living hand to mouth because you end up spending all your income before the end of the month.

Once you stop letting your possessions guide you, you get in control of your life. You will see your life running more smoothly now.

Minimalist Lifestyle – You Will Set a Good Example

Many parents complain about how their kids are not happy with all the toys they have. They don’t appreciate all the toys that they already have. They still want more.

Even when they do get a new toy, it gets ignored after the first few days. It ends up in one of the many toy boxes.

The child now wants another toy, and he is going to get it sooner or later. What’s happening is that kids are just kids. They copy the excitement they see on their parent’s faces when they’re buying something new.

If we teach our kids to value the things they already have, we will be setting a good example for them.

You can do that by encouraging minimalist living and kids will follow suit to focus on what’s more important in life – happiness.

Wrapping Up

Happiness is a state of mind. Your thoughts and emotions can bring you happiness irrespective of any physical objects or products that money can buy.

Minimalist living not only helps you contain your expenses, keep your home clean, be more with your loved ones, but it also helps you to mitigate stress and get in control to live a healthy and happy life.

Of course, money is helpful and it can get you things that bring you comfort and joy, but the secret to happiness lies in recognizing the limiting or saturation point.

I hope the minimalist living tips mentioned here are helpful to you to be more happy in life.

You do not need more (that money can buy) to be more happy. You can even achieve that state of mind with less number of material possessions. Living with less is a beautiful way of life.

Over to you –

Do you believe in minimalist living? What do you do to increase happiness in your life and family while practicing living with less? Share in the comments below.