Opting For The Minimalist Lifestyle

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Have only what I need, and not just in terms of material things but also intellectually. I won't buy what I don't need and I won't learn what I won't use.

There is a classic mistake most brilliant people make -- they think they can be good at anything they put their mind to. They are right and that is why this mistake is dangerous. It goes unnoticed. What they ignore, in having that mindset, is that you can't be good at many things at once and for a very long time. 

I constantly meet people who say they used to be extremely good at this and that. Sometimes with a mix of pride and regret. 

I have decided on what I want to be very good at and more importantly I plan to remain good at them. To achieve that I have to let go of unnecessary weights.

Our minds can only focus on very few things at a time and we lose mastery of what we don't constantly practice. 

I have seen people struggle later on in life with skills they were masters of. My parents are a close example. My dad used to be a lecturer at OAU. My mum studied English and used to teach at one of the biggest state schools in Osun state, Oranmiyan Memorial Grammar School. Today, they've lost most of the skills that career instills. Over the years, I watched as their English language communications skills deteriorated. Sure, they got better at other things. And that is the problem. You will always get better at the other things you abandon your current skills for. And if you are the very active, easily-bored type the list of those other things keep growing.

It is same with material things too. They not only take physical space, they also take mental space. More space than we acknowledge. I have made conscious effort to keep my material possessions at strict utility level. I don't get anything for fashion sake. Everything is purely for intense use. From my watch to my shoe. I noticed that I tend to wear a fraction of my shoes and clothes at any point in time. Usually one black and one brown shoe, and five shirts and four trousers. The rest just waste away. Now I simply do replacement purchase. But another black shoe when the current active one is dying, instead of unsuccessfully trying to shuffle between two or more black shoes. The same for my shirts and trousers. And jackets. Even my car dents are accumulated over months before repair, like fix everything every June and December of each year (actual is much less frequent). It is books I am having a tough time not overbuying.

As it is with all lifestyle change to go against usual trend, the start is not easy. But I am already getting better at it and able to resist/avoid the common temptations. I am now completely immune to all those talk about dressing big for big business deals. I have found a well-tested effective alternative. My offers are a take it or leave it one. No salesy or impression based negotiation. I will tell you the same thing in my undershirt and boxer, as I would if I was wearing the world's most expensive suit and chatting in my Ferrari.

I am now a minimalist. And it works fine for me.