Minimalism: Finding The Life You Want Under Everything You Own

Is there anything you own, particularly anything expensive which the thought of living without sends a shiver down your spine? You’d almost certainly be lying if you said no. There are so many amazing (but pricey) things you can buy these days, like super advanced smartphones, consoles with every kind of game imaginable and life size statues of TV characters (should you be so inclined).

American business man and former politician, Chris Chocola, told Times Magazine. “And I would argue that the second greatest force in the universe is ownership.” In today’s society, a person’s worth and value is generally based on how much he or she owns. Those in the higher social classes typically own more prestigious objects; such as large houses, nice cars, and the most expensive brands of clothing. While those who lie at the bottom of the social pyramid are stereotyped as living in beat up trailers, driving dinky cars, and wearing the same shirt more than twice a week. As humans, we are so quick to judge others solely based on what they own. We admire those who have more than us, and act better than those who have less than us. Ownership is directly correlated with one’s self identity and how he or she feels about the world. The objects a person owns can give him or her an elevated ego, change the way he or she handles different life situations, and help shape his or her personality in very specific ways.

Everyone enjoys material things, whether they want a brand new car or even a phone; these items do not provide any necessity for survival, yet they make people’s lives much easier, and even more

When humans become more materialistic, they lose the ability to maintain normal human relationships emotions connected to human relationships such as love or friendship. In modern day 2017, everybody is becoming more materialistic, wanting the newest

People chase wealth and prosperity so they can buy items they think they need and will enjoy, whether it be an iPod or latest game console. Eighner’s idea of the transience of material living is that in the end material possessions are meaningless. Eighner has learnt through his loss of these items that life experience and knowledge will outlast any tangible item, he states “some material things are white elephants that eat up the possessor’s substance” (568). Eighner argues that materialistic objects themselves are not as important as the sentiments behind them. The fact that Eighner can survive and live happily off others’ waste effectively persuades the reader to reflect and ask questions of themselves.

It seems as if they have everything they might possibly want. Through the years, they have become obsessed with trying to fulfill themselves and find happiness. They believe buying one more item would give them eternal happiness yet fails miserably. The pursuit of happiness through wealth is a common symptom in the affluent which has become an insane obsession.

Who you are is not defined by what you own, therefore owning objects is not detrimental to one's character and the development of a clear sense of self. However, just because objects are not essential does not mean that ownership of the tangible is taboo. Ideally, you should not be overwhelmed by objects or let them define in, but instead cherish the things that mean the most to you, but do not be tied down to meaningless things because what you own or don't own doesn't characterize your true self. What defines me are intangible ideas which include my core values, my beliefs, my knowledge, my true character, my personal experience and how I contribute and what I give to my community.

Most of us don’t appreciate what we have and despise those who have what we can’t afford. Growing up, my parents rarely denied me new toys, but subconsciously, I knew I should not ask for unnecessary items. Up to this day, I don’t remember a time when I bought something without asking myself multiple times, “How much do I really need this?” This is because my family has never been in a financial position in which we could afford anything and everything we wanted. Just like Mark Twain said, “I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me that position,” I personally would not be able to handle the responsibility which comes with having money at easy disposal because of how I was raised.

Psychologist James Hamblin believes that happiness comes from experiences that occur in life rather than the materials life has to offer. In other words, a person will be happier in the long run going on vacation rather than buying a new phone. Hamblin’s article creates an argument in hopes of encouraging people to enjoy the moments in life and not the big or little things. Hamblin argues that ‘if you pay for an experience, like a vacation, it will be over and gone; but if you buy a tangible thing, a couch, at least you 'll have it for a long time” (Hamblin 2014). A person may be able to buy something and have it in possession for a long period of time,

Have you ever gone to the store and just had to buy that article of clothing or those sweet Nikes? How about when you’re grocery shopping and those donuts look too good not to buy? How long has it been since you last picked up your phone or other electronic device? That is materialism. People can grow attached to objects and have a very hard time getting rid of things. This can become a serious issue when left unchecked and in some rare cases can lead to a person's death.

All that is end up being found is the fact of having the illusion of having more material is to be happy than being happy by valuing what you already have.

While it may be easy to conclude that materialism is a terrible mindset, we must first clarify what the popular but incorrect mindset of materialism brings. A common belief is that materialistic people believe that the acquisition of possessions will lead to happiness and life satisfaction, and that the lack of possessions will lead to dissatisfaction. However, a study (Belk 1984) revealed the contrary. It is actually dissatisfaction in life that results in a materialistic mindset, not a materialistic mindset resulting in

Materialism certainly can give us a kind of happiness - the temporary thrill of buying something new, and the ego-inflating thrill of owning it afterwards and we use this kind of happiness to try to override - or compensate for - the fundamental unhappiness inside us” which refers to the fact that we use the short amount of satisfaction that we get from buying a new outfit or shoes or any material item to try to hide the fact that we are unhappy. So even though we believe that buying things for ourselves will make us happy it doesn’t

Simultaneously, society unfairly degrades the value of belongings when they enter our possession easily. One example of an underrated belonging is the feeling of love. Many explain this to be the greatest feeling in the world, yet it is somewhat easy to obtain. Just because you did not have to go to college and work every day at this feeling does not mean that it even slightly loses its value. Love is found all around us: in families, in friendship, in significant others, in pets, yet it is still one of the most valuable belongings life hands

Minimalism: A Documentary about important things follows the journey of two novelists, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, determined to help people escape the crippling disease in society, consumerism. The idea of minimalism is to narrow down the material items one bring into their life to better your ability to realize what is truly important to you and what makes you happy. The documentary explores the human tendency to become dissatisfied with everything in our lives and expresses that by living a life based less on the things we have we will be able to better appreciate everything surrounding us. We allow the evolving consumer market to influence the way we live to the point where we start to base our self-worth of the