After Minimizing, Now What?

Minimalism shouldn't be an end, but only a means.

After all the challenges, decluttering, paring down of possessions, sticking to a limited wardrobe, living without cars, cellphones, and the Internet, what’s next?

There is this person I know who didn't have that many stuff. At face value, should be a classic minimalist.

He seemed to be wearing the same clothes week after week after week, doesn't have a car, cell phone, and tv. He doesn't have that much to do either, and seems to have all the free time in the world.

Despite this lack of material possessions and activities, the guy is depressed and a loner. He sees himself as very unfortunate, poor in the eyes of many. He stands with no confidence, doesn't want to talk to anyone, and is stricken with self-pity.

Minimalism became an end, not a means.

Much more important is pursuing things that benefit our life and others.

Much more important is having a more productive life, a happy life, one with purpose and impact.

7 Life Clichés That Are All Lies

I’m sorry for such a bold headline, but these are just points that I’ve discovered in my own life.

Being 33 years old, I humbly admit that I’m still a long, long, long way in reaching my true potential – I still have a lot to learn is certainly an understatement.

For the purpose of listing them down and saving them for future reference, here are some clichés about life that I’ve come to realize as lies:

Don’t Be Overwhelmed by Minimalism

“Minimalism itself is not about the minimum number of things, but the optimum number of things necessary for my life. No more and no less than I need.” -  Karol Gajda

Some misconceptions about minimalism:

It Takes a Little Courage to be a Minimalist

“People might think you’re weird at first. It takes time to educate your friends and family about why you’re doing things this way, and it takes a little courage to be different. It’s totally worth it.” -  Leo Babauta, mnmlist.com

I don’t know if it’s only here in the Philippines, but people tend to think negative of someone who they find different or odd.

Project 333: Week 13 Update (Final Week)

I’ve reached the end of my Project 333 experiment and I barely noticed it.

My takeaways:

Thank You

We are in a journey through a world that is dark and dreary. Dim, if we want to put it lightly.

There are many traces of wonder, for sure, but we know bad things can happen (and do happen) even to good people.

There are and will always be painful experiences necessary to be mature and have a full life.

Project 333: Week 11 & 12 Update

“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” – Jim Rohn

I know, I’ve said that it’s not good to be busy. But it’s also not that bad, sometimes.

I haven’t been blogging lately as our family is preparing for a major change in our life. It’s something that I’m so excited about.

Project 333: Week 9 & 10 Update

I just got back from a week-long vacation during the Holy Week break. I'm happy to find time disconnecting from the Internet during that stretch, that’s why I’m only updating my blog now.

Perfection is Never Achieved

My wife and I were watching the Tokyo episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations when I was amazed by the Japanese philosophy on perfection.

By the way, this is one of our most favorite TV shows besides Friends.

Project 333: Week 8 Update

I got rid of my new dark gray jeans this week. The reason is because it doesn’t fit me well. It’s too baggy and doesn’t look good on me. Now I’m back to 31 items.