Logan J. Davisson - The Colors Of A Optimistic World

Advertising and newsletters are now available in two forms: Printed and digital. Of course, it is not a big act to put a newsletter into the waste paper or to move the advertising mail into the digital wastepaper basket. But look at the big picture: How much time do you spend each day sorting your physical and digital mail? Five minutes? That's not much, of course, but in a year that's around 1,825 minutes, more than 30 hours. That doesn't have to be, because in these 30 hours you can also sit in the sun with a cup of coffee or listen to an interesting podcast. What helps against the flood of advertising is a sign with "Please do not insert advertising" on the letterbox. With every advertising mail that lands in your digital mailbox, you click on "unsubscribe newsletter". Sure, it's interesting to know what's on offer. But this is only interesting until you start to define for yourself what is useful for you!

Also in the purse accumulate well and gladly receipts, small cards, visiting cards, notes and the like. That doesn't have to be the case, because a well-assorted wallet makes life much easier. Do you really always have to have your credit card with you? Which loyalty cards do you actually use to collect points? If you're honest with yourself, it's amazingly little. Maybe you just go to the specific café to finally get the point card full or buy a specific fabric softener because you got a discount card through this consumer-driven reward system. Your wallet says a lot about you and your consumer behavior. Letting minimalism take over at this point can have a positive effect on the next purchase. A monthly check is also worthwhile here to sort out receipts and similar everyday collectibles.

For many people, it is much more difficult to remain minimalist than to carry out a major clearing out operation. But why is that? Because every day our habits urge us to buy, buy, buy. So to stay minimalist in the long run, you have to change your habits. This works best when you set yourself ten big goals - based on the inspiration in this chapter, for example - and then set one of those goals as your weekly task. So you are constantly busy with the topic of minimalism and its implementation and you will get many more ideas. So always make sure that you pursue new goals, challenge yourself and constantly develop yourself further! A weekly, monthly and annual check-up helps: What have I planned and what have I achieved? In order to clearly define your goals, you should write them down. This brings structure to your project and you always have your written thoughts at hand.

We are only too happy to slip back into our beloved habits. You have already learned how to prevent this. Changes in our habits are also accompanied by changes in our mindset. Accordingly, regular smaller clearing out actions can help you adjust your domestic status quo to your minimalist mental status quo. The more often you question yourself and your behaviour in this way, the more profound the changes will be. You will see that in one year you will think quite differently about the necessity of the second pair of sneakers. Stay open for these developments and regularly give yourself the chance to deal with your living environment. When cleaning up, sometimes not only material entanglements but also mental entanglements dissolve and you notice "Hey, I only go to Pilates because XY does that too. I'd like swimming much better!" - be curious!

Water in plastic bottles is usually not only expensive, but also unhealthy. Finally, with every plastic bottle of water you drink, you also drink tiny plastic particles that come loose from the bottle and swim around in your delicious water. Sure, now you could reach for water in glass bottles, but carrying that isn't necessarily comfortable either. So why not choose the simplest solution: Drink tap water. If you live in an area with not quite as pure tap water, a water filter is of course a good idea. If you have been drinking cola and co. so far, you can do your health a big favour and switch to water. When it comes to drinking, make it as easy as possible!

Letting mindfulness return to everyday life is part of the minimalist lifestyle. How will you feel lucky at breakfast when you're distracted by radio and smartphone? To eat breakfast consciously, to really enjoy a cup of coffee or tea and to participate in breakfast with all your senses - that's luck. In this way you can make your entire everyday life more conscious and mindful and consequently more minimalist! We all live in the belief that multitasking will get us ahead. We are strongly in favour of singletasking gaining the upper hand. Once we focus on just one thing, we can perceive ourselves much better in this situation. So the daily cooking, the daily walk, the daily washing up and the daily sunshine can become a reason for a good mood!

What happens to us when we implement minimalism in our lives? Less is more and this is exactly what minimalism is all about. We throw all the unnecessary stuff out of our lives to have more time and space for the really important things in life. The focus is on the things that offer us real added value - we become more productive, we intensify our relationships, we set ourselves goals and make our lives more inspiring. Our focus is moving away from the consumer society towards more joie de vivre. You decide for yourself what is useful and what is useless for you. So what do you want to fill your life with? It is important that you decide for yourself and not some advertising or social pressure. You pedal your way freely through the minimalist lifestyle, removing the outer shells to be close to you. You may not even know what you really want because of all your consumerism and you will find out on your minimalist journey. So the effect of minimalism is that you are closer to yourself, that you are more relaxed, that you are freer and that you are more self-determined. So you are going to deal with the question "What do I need for my happiness in life?" and you will learn a lot about yourself! By the way, you clear out your apartment or house, so you have much more space and by your changed attitude to consumption you also save a lot of money. After all, you were able to find out for yourself that it's usually not the objects that make you happy, but above all the moments with loved ones. By accumulating fewer possessions, it is easier for you to keep order, cleaning goes faster. This saves you a lot of time and stress. Also the thoughts around the new Smartphone and the alleged necessity to possess it are dropped, whereby it can be lived much more relaxed. Your neighbours always need the latest sports cars? Good for her, but you don't have to deal with these trivial decisions anymore. This gives you the opportunity to use your time and energy for really important decisions. For example, you can develop professionally, get more involved with the stock market, take care of your retirement plans, plan great parties and spend wonderful holidays with your loved ones. As you can see, this way of thinking allows you great flexibility in shaping your life and that is incredibly important. After all, only you yourself are responsible for your happiness in life and no one else. The creators of the new advertising for the new vacuum cleaner robot promise you heaven on earth, but as soon as the little electronic butler flits through your living room, you are no longer interesting for them. The attention to your true needs will increase steadily over time. So you will go through your life more attentively and consciously, perceive what really makes you happy and experience great gratitude for many incredibly small things in life. Finally you have your luck in your hand and are no longer dependent on external factors! That's an incredibly good feeling!