Minimalism

By Warren Wong

My inspiration stems from minimalist, and filmmaker Matt D’Avella. His work showed me what minimalism is, isn’t, and how it’s put into practice.

He showed me a whole new side of living the best life possible, one full of experiences and valuing not the things we own, but things that bring us joy.

There is a powerful idea behind minimalism. It is about taking control of your life and caring about the things that matter.

minimalist desk and office white

Minimalism is NOT:

Throwing away all your things and owning 7 different t-shirts for each day of the week. (You can if you want to)
Eating out with your friends and have to cook pasta and ramen every night. (And there’s nothing wrong with that, shoutout to my starving college friends)
Splurging (once in a while) and buying that gift for yourself
Getting rid of your car and opt for a bicycle.
Selling your house and opt for a tiny house or live in a trailer in Montana.
Using one toilet square per wipe.

Now that we’ve got a good idea of what minimalism is not, let’s take a look at what minimalism is.

Minimalism is:

It’s taking control of your life and being methodical the way you live
Being conscious about what we own.
Choosing who we spend time with.
Knowing yourself and what brings you the most joy, the most fulfillment.

Quick Exercise

Take out a pen and paper and jot down all the things that matter to you. However, these have to be the things that you’re going to care about on your deathbed.

When I did this exercise, I sat at my desk wondering how senior citizen Warren would be like.

What would I care about? What do I want to do the most? What kind of legacy do you want to leave?

The words stumbled onto the paper. I came up with a short list:

I want to be a loving brother, son, father and husband (down the road, sure)
I want to make a difference in other’s lives
I want to experience all the world as to offer (travel, food, philosophy…)
I want to be a better friend

These are things I want to be remembered for.

And it was with this exercise that I knew I had to make some changes in my life.

Impulsive Shopping

My last few years have been a normal lifestyle for a guy in his 20’s. I was eating out regularly — gorging on tacos, and California burritos — I mean c’mon it’s Southern California.

Fish tacos and beans in oceanside california — Fish tacos are the shit.

I was buying home appliances and clothes because I just moved to San Diego for my first duty station. In addition, I bought a new car to boot (cmon, I do need to get around and drive to work).

Having made a lot of purchases the first few years, I don’t regret most of the things I got. But, I really didn’t need that fancy BBQ grill kit that I only used 2 times or the 3 gym tank tops that are a size too big and didn’t feel like returning.

I realized that all the impulse purchases I had made didn’t serve any part in my happiness.

Often times, I would browse Amazon and decide to purchase things that I think will be useful, without asking myself, will I end up using it.

After buying those “things”, a few months down the road I would realize that I didn’t end up using it, but it was too late to return.

How to combat impulse purchases

To combat this, I began asking myself if I will use this 6 months from now, 1 year from now, and how often.

More often than not the answer is, “not very often”, and I would then exit out of my browser.

This has saved me a ton of time and also money for the things that do matter, like my trip to Europe this September or books I want to read.

I still struggle with impulse shopping when I’m bored. I try to go exercise or go read instead. It’s a work in progress….

Minimalism not a panacea

It is a way of thinking. It’s to help free you from material things and bring focus to the things that bring you true satisfaction and fulfillment.

Before I practiced minimalism I felt at odds with myself and I didn’t know why.

I made a list:

I felt like my things controlled me. Car bills, insurance, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Netflix.
I didn’t know where things were and what purpose they served.
I bought things just to buy them, then regret it afterwards. (BBQ grill set)
I felt like I lost touch with the things that matter, people. (Need to call mom more)
I got distracted by all the toys and gadgets I got and never found my calling or hobbies (passion projects, reading, writing, photography)

I had to consciously put forth the effort to change. By completing the exercise I now had a better idea of what I wanted to be remembered for, and what I didn’t want to feel like.

It was a start. With that I took off running.

Cutting out the unnecessary

I took a hard look at what was slowing me down. It was my things. I donated, gave away and threw out things that I no longer needed. Souvenirs, impulse purchases, and baggy clothing all had to go.

I cut back on eating out as much and savored those weekend outings for authentic Japanese ramen or a fresh poke bowl at the local shop.

And I also started meal prepping. In addition, I went through every single item in my room here in San Diego, twice, and asked myself do I need it.

If the answer was no, it was gone.

What I was left with was my most used items and the things that brought me joy.

My coffee machine, books on my bookshelf, journals, clothes that I wear often, and my robot vacuum, Steve.

There are a lot of things I kept like my car, computer, phone, etc. My room isn’t bare bones, although some would argue it is.

What this process has allowed me to do is to declutter my life and make room for what matters the most.

What minimalism has done for me

Focus on what matters
Focus on people and my relationships
Create more and consume less
Enjoy the small things in a big way
Stop and smell the roses
Practice mindfulness
Find more time
Help others

Ultimately, I’m a more happy and well adjusted person.

Before practicing minimalism, I was zooming through life without any direction.

Sure, I knew what I should be doing — get a college degree, get a job, find a girl — but I also felt I was meant for more. Here I was bombarded with commercials, social media, and colleagues of what I should buying, consuming and even feeling.

I came to a scary realization that I was not in control of my life because I was letting outsiders, friends, the media dictate my life. This stark realization scared me to shit. I needed a change and I needed it now!

Turning Over a New Leaf

While in my PJ’s, browsing through some cute Husky videos, YouTube suggested Matt D’Avella’s “A Day in the Life of a Minimalist”. Maybe this was God’s sign saying that I need to fix my life.

I watched the 7 minute clip and was glued to the screen the entire time.

I ended up spending my Saturday morning Googling and researching Minimalism and fell upon Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus’s work The Minimalists, — which has been featured in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal — a documentary of two reformed minimalists, their journey and discovery.

I highly recommend watching, if you haven’t or just watch trailer clips until you get the idea.

It resonated with me because of the benefits, no frill, no BS which I was in desperate need of.

Over the next week and a half, I got rid of all my useless material things. I took a tally of all my monthly bills and subscriptions, and canceled the ones that didn’t add to my bottom line.

I took a hard look at my calendar and canceled events that didn’t bring me any happiness. I also added things onto the calendar that I’ve always wanted to do, but never “had the time” to do.

For the first time, I’m reading more. I’ve read a total of 16 books in the past 4 months.

Instead of constantly consuming, I’ve started this blog and have been consistently writing, editing, and researching, even if I have to wake up at 430 AM to do it.

Learn to say, “No!”

There is also a dark side of this journey. It’s the word “no”. To practice minimalism you will be faced with a lot of difficult decisions.

Saying no is the hardest part for me. I know who I am and what I’m not and that means saying no to things that don’t align with what I’m trying to do and who I want to become.

As difficult as it already to be an adult, growing up doesn’t get any easier. And your perspective will shift in 5 years time, then 5 years after that, and another 5 after that.

The answer? I have none for you. There’s no cookie cutter answer for your life. It’s something that requires constant thought and reinvention.