Top 5 Advanced Minimalist Mistakes

Minimalism is a way of life, a way to find balance and clarity, and to clearly distinguish boundaries for your mental health, your relationships, your space, and your own physical capacity. I want to share the five common mistakes that I see veteran minimalists make, so that you can transition into it more smoothly.

Mistake #1 is thinking that it's going to look like curated social media.
As you start going about your life and start reincorporating or reorganizing things, you may find that they don't look visually appealing. This is where it comes down to getting to know yourself. Does form really follow function, or does form matter as much as function? What do you value most? 

That's the beautiful thing about minimalism; once you get to point A, you can level it up and get to point B. You can do so by continually retaking inventory and reassessing the spaces. Then ask yourself, how can I move forward in a better way?

Mistake #2 is overconsuming experiences.
While the material excess is gone, you’re now trying to replace it with other things. Whether it’s traveling, dining out, or diving into personal development and self-help… These things consume a lot of time, money, and resources. If you aren’t deliberate about what you spend our time on, our attention becomes scattered. 

This creates further stress and takes up additional resources. So all you’ve done is switch from the next thing to buy to the next thing to experience and spend resources on. It's crucial to ask yourself, not only does this add value to my life, but is this important?

Mistake #3 is failing to recognize that time is limited.
Time is the most valuable thing that you can't get back. What are you putting your time toward, and how does this look a week from now, a year from now, five years from now? 

Before you beat yourself up, understand that you're going to make mistakes. You’re going to try things, then realize you’re overextending myself. It takes a lot of honesty and humility to be able to identify that turn away. But once you do, you realize this is practicing minimalism in its most advanced form.

Mistake #4 is not thinking forward.
How much attention, and time, and resources will be taken by this thing that you're about to do or welcome into your life? It's hard to quantify; sometimes you don't realize until you get into it. Then it takes you being a bigger person and stepping up to your honest self and admitting that it’s not what you want anymore.

When you can identify the things that are most important to you, life gets really simple and it gets super clear what your North Star is, in terms of what you should or shouldn't allow into your life. The process takes a lot of digging and self-awareness, it takes a lot of pivoting and what it comes down to is priorities.

Mistake #5 is not knowing your basics.
Your basics are your values, needs, priorities, and preferences. Understanding what these elements are helps you zero in on the things that are most important to you. Acknowledging and meeting your basics helps you thrive, keeps you balanced and sane, and makes you happy. In turn, your life gets easier and becomes more enjoyable.

If you’re feeling like you keep reaching outside of yourself; whether it's materialism, over-consuming experiences, or just the next exciting thing, then oftentimes it's this is often because you don't fully understand who you are at the core and what makes you tick.

When you're not giving yourself the things that it takes for you to thrive and feel fulfilled, you're going to start reaching out to meet that need without actually knowing what you're trying to fulfill. 

Having this level of awareness is key when it comes to deepening your growth and your journey into minimalism and accessing even more of the benefits from this way of life. Minimalism focuses most on what adds value to you and what you value. Ultimately, practicing minimalism can lead to massive amounts of happiness, peace and fulfillment.