Distractions are everywhere. A co-worker or classmate may want you to help them with a project when you’re already busy with something else. Your boss or teacher may want you to take on another assignment or stay after hours when you have other things that need your attention. Sometimes, people just feel this need to please others to the point that we spread ourselves too thin and become exhausted; no one should have to live like that.
Technology can also be a bit of a distraction in today’s society. A text or phone call from your husband, wife, sister, brother, etc. may pop up and you instantly feel the urge to answer it right away while you’re out with a friend. A notification about the latest news or celebrity gossip might show up on your computer, and instead of focusing on your homework, you’ll decide to check that because of this fear of missing out or wanting to stay informed with anything that’s new or exciting.
Cutting out distractions is hard; I know this well myself. What’s even harder though is continuing to put everyone else’s time and attention above your own and not taking that time to care for yourself. I also know how easy it is to get sucked into something else that’s not productive, like using your free time to shop for things you don’t need, or spending too much time on social media when we could be doing something more productive or worthwhile. These distractions are constantly bombarding us, and yet, they just drain our energy and take away our time and attention.
I want you to take the time to think and reflect on the following questions listed below. If you need to, you can say your responses aloud or write them down:
What kinds of distractions could you work on removing from your life?
What kinds of mental or physical clutter are keeping you from feeling content with your life?
What does contentment or joy mean to you?
Which people in your life are leaving a negative or damaging effect on you?
When I first started getting into minimalism, part of me realized that the source of my stress, discouragement and depression was because of a lack of balance and consistency with what I was doing. I had just gotten home from secondary school for job training, and while the experience wasn’t all bad, I just wasn’t able to feel like myself half the time when I was there, and recovering from that experience took some time. I was still shopping on a semi-regular basis for things that I enjoyed at the moment, but didn’t really reflect my lifestyle. I was also still under this assumption that in order for me to be happy, I either had to please others, acquire more stuff or constantly keep up with what was trending or cool at the time. This in turn led me to feeling lost and confused because I was just going in circles, not understanding why I still didn’t feel happy. In some cases, I felt like I had no purpose in life, or like I was just struggling to see another day.
I’ve learned a lot in the last year or so, so I hope these insights are helpful to you. If I had not known about minimalism, my journey would probably have continued on with all these struggles until much later in my life. Life in general isn’t perfect, but we shouldn’t have to sacrifice ourselves in order to find or pursue happiness- though, that mindset isn’t the healthiest in my honest opinion. Happiness starts when you learn to cultivate it yourself and look inward, no matter how hard that may be.
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