Have you ever heard of the idea of minimalism? The concept of less is more, decluttering, ridding yourself of material possessions that no longer give you any value, the idea of getting rid of the excess things in your life to allow you to focus your attention and energy on the things that truly matter?

I’m guessing you are familiar with some of these concepts but may not have ever heard of the term minimalism as a concept or as a lifestyle choice, which is what it is becoming these days.

I first came across this idea of minimalism while out running and listening to an episode of the Rich Roll Podcast where he was interviewing a guy I had never heard of about this topic. His story really hit a nerve with me – he was a corporate go-getter, eagerly climbing the rungs of the ladder, achieving “success” along the way and then realising that all this perceived success – the job title, the salary, the stuff you buy with the salary, the debt you run up, the excess, the waste, the overindulgence, the mindless consumption – it was all a complete waste of time – none of it made him even one tiny bit happier. He and his friend and co-author, both chose to live life differently and from there embraced the concept known as minimalism. They didn’t invent it, they just made it mainstream. From there, I watched their documentary on Netflix and I was sold.

Check out the trailer.

We live in a very commercial and materialistic world right now, where wealth and food and possessions are in abundance. But all that wealth and abundance comes at a cost – the cost of your attention, your energy, your contribution to the world around you, your growth as a person and I believe it feeds a greed inside all of us that is never satiated by material things, no matter what size of a tv you buy, there is always a bigger one. Not to mention the environmental cost of all this mindless materialism.

These ideas just make sense to me.

Have less. Take less. Be more. Give more.

For me personally, it is a great reminder to focus on and put my energy in the direction of the things that truly matter to me – my health, my kids, wife and family, my mates, having fun and doing things that truly give me joy – like writing this silly blog. These are the things that fill me up on a physical, mental and spiritual level – these are my true happiness levers.

All the stuff that gets in the way of these I am slowly trying to remove. This is not just about getting rid of lots of stuff (although that is one of the best bits), it just feels better to be in control, to be able to say No to things or people and to do what you know (and you always know) is right.

Here’s to having less and living more.

JP