It is important to know why a minimalist chooses to live this lifestyle. There are misconceptions out there about minimalist living and that is why many societies believe that minimalism is only meant for the old fashioned. Nevertheless, there must be good reasons why people decide to live or not to live this lifestyle. Let us have a look at the pros and cons of minimalist living.
The Cons
The society is the most powerful constraint that debars people from living a minimalist life. We have been brought up with a lot of competition, starting from our homes, to our schools and consequently to our workplaces. The society has taught us that we should always continue to climb the ladder without compromising its height provided that we succeed. Life does not need more money, but we have seen people with more than enough and yet they seem not to be content. It reminds me of two friends who caught up with a bear, and guess what? The one who could outrun the other was possibly the victor.
According to Abrahams Maslow’s theory of needs, the highest point that an individual can reach after surpassing all other stages is the self actualization. However, this trend is beginning to change; people need more than just self actualization-they want more stages to be added in that theory so that they can even be more self-actualized. That is why the society will continue to educate their children without minding the high unemployment rate creeping in the economy. That is a dream of every parent-good education and the best job for my child.
On the other hand, minimalists have been accused of selfishness. People have labeled them as stingy because of they fear to spend even if they had the money. I personally believe a good portion of people hate minimalism. In fact, some have claimed to have too short lifespan and therefore won’t hesitate to capture any opportunity that will bring them happiness. Those who don’t intend to live a minimalist lifestyle always have a notion of doing what other successful people have done before. In other words, they usually strive to break the ‘record’ even for once. For example, many aspire to own descent homes in order to live lavish lifestyles or probably dine at the most expensive and reputable hotel.
The Pros
Minimalists live the way they do because they were brought up that way. For example, if you were brought up in a family of strictly vegetarians, it doesn’t mean that you are more than stingy that you can’t eat meat. You were brought up that way and there are no apologies to make for that.
Furthermore, minimalists love to see a clutter free environment. For example, a small home with a bigger family needs decluttering. Rather than adding more items in that smaller home, a minimalist will endeavor to have less that would provide happiness and in addition peace of mind. Apart from that, they are concerned in acquiring items that will last. Quality of item is not an issue provided that the item can last. You may ask why are they are doing this? They certainly don’t want to load their homes with stuff. Can imagine a home with too many worn out items filling out your space?
Finally minimalists want to have fewer manageable items. There is no need to have six cars in your parking lot when you would actually use one.