It's a minimalist Monday edition of optimal living daily episode three hundred and four three life-changing truths from three years of minimalism by Joshua Becker of becoming minimalist calm And I'm Justin Malik. This is the podcast where I act as your very own personal narrator for amazing blogs completely free of charge And today I'm reading from a popular minimalist blogger And I'm gonna keep this intro nice and short for minimalist Monday. So let's jump right in and start optimizing your life Three life-changing truths from three years of minimalism by Joshua Becker of becoming minimalist calm Quote a mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions all over Wendell Holmes Jr Over Memorial Day weekend 2008. I became a minimalist.
That was exactly three years ago My journey into minimalism was not entered into as a fad experiment or temporary life adjustment nor was it just for the purpose of moving getting out of debt Traveling the world quitting my job or starting a blog my decision to intentionally live with less was born out of my desire to line up My life's energy was my heart steepest desires. It was about creating space for faith family and friends It was always a decision that I knew would influence the rest of my life and I wouldn't trade a minute of it over the past three years We have removed 60 to 70% of our personal possessions We've removed ourselves from the hollow race of American consumerism and we have changed our habits of consumption as a result We have found more time for the things that are most important and have found more energy for pursuing our true passions In many ways, we have been able to finally start living a life We always wanted to live this journey towards minimalism has been far more life-changing than anticipated the possessions in our lives to find Who we are on a far deeper level than we ever realize and as a result the process of removing them teaches us valuable truths about ourselves And about life as I ponder the past three years and all that I've learned I think the following life-changing truths sum up most of my personal journey number one life is best lived intentionally I wasted too much of my life living on autopilot I chased the same dreams that my friends and neighbors were chasing without ever questioning if my heart had a better dream I followed the advice I was fed to me millions and millions of times through television advertisements, billboards and internet banners Without ever wondering why their products never quite fully satisfied I compared my life to others using the same criteria that society encourages Without ever determining if the comparisons were adding anything to my soul I never questioned the life I was living or the assumptions they were based upon But when I was introduced to the journey of minimalism that started to change I began to study the facets of my life with a new lens where I was spending my money where I was exerting my energy and what I truly most valued in life I was amazed, perhaps even saddened, to suddenly realize I was wasting my life chasing full closets but empty dreams Minimalism has brought newfound intentionality into my life It has searched my heart and revealed motives that I didn't know existed I've become a better person over the past three years, sometimes through joy and sometimes through tears But through it all, I've learned better what it means to live and intentional life Number two, life is about the journey, not the destination Dreams come and dreams go, some dreams are realized, only to be replaced by bigger and better dreams Other dreams are discarded, only to be replaced by different ones It seems no matter what happens with your dreams, another one will always take its place That's just the nature of goals Over the past three years, I've learned that the richest joys in life are not found at the finish line Instead, they are found in the journey towards the finish line Whether setting a new subject, needing a sweater or minimizing possessions, those who cheat the process lose out in the end There's much to be learned about ourselves during the short lives we live And the truths that mean the most are only found through patience and perseverance Becoming minimalist has been a long journey for me, in some regards I've got room left to go But every time I push further down the trail, I discover something new about my soul It is an emotional process to remove the weight of possessions from one's life, far more emotional than I expected There's joy and internal discovery in each step, I'm so glad I didn't miss it And while there is a need for wisdom and discretion to choose the correct finish line to raise towards, patience and perseverance is needed To appreciate the highs and lows of the journey towards it Number three, the life of minimalism needs to be shared Surprisingly, I have found that the principles of minimalism resonate with most people Most of us already know that possessions do not equal joy It's just that we've been told that deceptive lies so many times are from so many sources that we start to believe it without even noticing And before we know it, we are accumulating more and more things, hoping to satisfy the longing in our hearts Since becoming minimalist, I've had the opportunity to speak on the topic of simplicity and a variety of ennius And whether I'm speaking at conferences, churches, public schools or on the radio, I always enter with the mindset that I'm on stage To simply remind the audience of what they already know to be true That there is more joy to be found in owning less than can be found in owning more And my hope is to simply invite them to embrace that truth This is a message that must be shared Our world is drowning in debt, stress and misplaced passion I am beginning to structure my life in a way that will allow me to actively seek more opportunities to share this message of minimalism And I hope you will do the same You just listened to the post titled Three Life Changing Truths from Three Years of Minimalism by Joshua Becker Becoming Minimalist.com I'm constantly thinking about how to optimize my health, what supplements to take, hours of sleep, what my diet should focus on Superpower finally takes the guessing out of it One simple lab test covers over 100 biomarkers and their app gives you a complete picture of your heart, liver, hormones, metabolism, even environmental toxins Plus it used to cost $499 right now, it's just $199 And head to superpower.com and use code old at checkout for an additional $20 off your membership And really quick, I'll mention that I'll be giving away Tim Ferriss' book, The Four Hour Workweek, to a random person who helps me out this week Instructions will be going out Friday to my mailing list, so if you're interested in that, come by oldpodcast.com and enter email address And that's it, I'll be back tomorrow with a post about burnout, so stay tuned for that, where your optimal life awaits