The Journey Towards Minimalism

Living Large for Less

At some point in the last few months, I came to the realization that I simply had too many things. It did not surprise anyone who knew me when I was able to fill two walk in closets in my new apartment with all of my clothes. I had so many clothes that nothing else would even fit in the closets! I live alone in an apartment with about 1,000 square feet, but I felt like I was drowning in my things. So I began the very sad task of adding up the quantities of everything that I owned. Some of the highlights: about 300 T shirts, 12 jackets, 10 bathing suits and about 40 pairs of jeans. And yet despite all of this, I kept routinely jaunting off to the mall and returning with new bags of stuff. Something had to change. 

First night in my new place!

Where to Start...

I knew that Step One was just realizing that I had too many things, but that was as far as I got for a while. I was onto something, I just didn't know what. And then one day I found this finance and general life blog and I realized where I was supposed to go.

I looked at all of my things and slowly started to ask myself if any of them added any meaning or value to my life. At first I thought that they did. For example, I could hold up one bathing suit and imagine myself wearing it on some tropical island, while another I would envision wearing to a family pool party. And so on until I got to 10 different occasions and color combinations "requiring" different outfits. Step Two: realizing how ridiculous this was. 

I suddenly understood that I did not in fact need 10 bathing suits. This may seem insignificant, but to me it was huge. For the first time ever I realized that my life would be no different if I bought one more article of clothing; and in fact, my life might actually be easier if I had a bit less. I didn't actually want to get rid of anything at this point, but I convinced myself that I could sell some of my stuff and make some quick money on eBay. So I did.

Reduce, Reduce, Reduce

In the first week of "reducing" as I'll call it, I listed close to 100 articles of clothing on eBay. Not everything sold, but I still made about $100. The first time I went to the post office to send my beloved items away, I felt very sad. I thought about all of the money that I had spent on everything and all of the times I had worn these things and I was angry that for less than $100 I was giving it all away.

But after a few more rounds of this, something started to change inside of me. I started to feel happy when someone would pay me $.99 for an old T Shirt that I hadn't worn in years. I started realizing that I actually didn't need it at all, and I didn't even want it. Slowly, my closet started emptying and a few dollars would enter my bank account here and there. And better yet, I stopped buying new things. For the first time in my life, I felt happy with what I already had! 

Budding Minimalism

It was amazing: I suddenly cut my spending, got rid of extra stuff I didn't need, saved money for a downpayment on a house and felt happy at the same time. But the best part of all was that I could see an immediate reduction in future consumption. I knew looking forward that I could save even more because I would continue not to need the things that I realized I didn't need today. The entire facade of our culture of materialism and consumption began to fall apart right before my eyes. In essence, I had discovered minimalism. 

To be fair, I have only just begun this journey, and I have no idea where it will take me, but I do know that I have made a substantial change in my present life to the benefit of my future self. I hope that as I move forward, I will continue moving in this very new and very positive direction. 

My 2015 Resolution - Buy a Home

Taking the Plunge in 2015

So I realize that I have been a little lax on the blogging and that New Year's happened a few weeks ago at this point, but I did make one important resolution for this year that I think will be helpful to share. My thought process is that if I blog about this and tell everyone that I'm going to do it, I'm more likely to actually make it happen! Based on where my life is at, I think that this would be a good year to purchase my first home! 

Perfect Timing

If I think back to my life one year ago, I never imagined that I would be where I am today. I was suffering through a miserable senior year of college, living in a ramshackle house with little to no heat and I often struggled to figure out how to pay my (very small) bills. But, given the fact that I was a 20 year old student, everything seemed on the right path!

Since then I've graduated, landed a job and become a lot happier. And so rather than focusing on the short term, I can start honing in on some of my long term goals. My biggest goal as of now is to retire young, but more on that another time. So I've set my sights on buying my first home, hopefully right here in Worcester!

The Hard Part - Saving

Abstractly, the idea of buying a home sounds awesome: space that I can use for anything, no more rent payments, maybe a dog! But getting from here to there will require me to save like crazy. So far I've got about $1000 saved, so clearly I have a long way to go. If I actually want to save enough for a downpayment in one year, I have to have a really solid plan, so here it is: save 50% of my income this year.

This may seem crazy, an on some level it probably is, but I'm on track so far. I'm trying to learn to appreciate what I have and find happiness from myself rather than from possessions, again more on that later. As of right now, this all seems pretty much like a dream, but I think that if I really focus, I can make it. This post is really just a collection of some of my high level and as of yet undeveloped ideas, but hopefully I'll be back with some progress in the coming months! 

The Three Types of People in the World

Stairs or Escalator?

The other day I went for a walk and I had some time to think about life. I came to the realization that our lives are nothing more than a series of seemingly complex layers of decisions. Yet as I continued to think, I began to realize that all of these choices that seem so complex on the surface are actually much more simple. I came to the conclusion that nearly all of our choices can be reduced to simple questions of act or do not act; active or passive; yes or no. And from this I realized that I could gather people into one of three groups based on their decision making. The first group are the people who ride escalators, the second take the stairs and the third walk up escalators. 

Escalator Riders: The Art of Passive Performance

Take a moment and think about an escalator. Imagine yourself approaching it as you see it shuttling people slowly upwards or downwards from one landing to another. They come in all different shapes and sizes, but their defining characteristic is that they assist in the transportation of people from one place to another. 

The first group of people approach the escalators step on and then stop, happily transported to their destination by their slow rising mechanical lift. These people progress through life willing to let things happen. They are content to accept their place in the world and drift with the masses from place to place. To ride an escalator is to detach oneself from free will and to become a passive observer of life. It's even rumored that the inventor of the escalator committed suicide in old age when he realized that he had simply given the world an excuse to become passive and lazy. 

Stair Climbers: Do it Yourself

If you're anything like me and you happen to interact with people and escalators on a regular basis, you may observe the ever bothersome person who simply states "I don't ride escalators, I'll take the stairs." Now after my rant about passive escalator riders, you may find it odd that I am complaining about stair climbers, the second type of person, as well. You may think, well there are many benefits of taking the stairs: resumption of free will, good exercise, muscle building, etc. These are all true statements, but they all miss an essential fact. Escalators help us get somewhere. 

Regardless of whether you choose to take the stairs or the escalator, you still exist and you are still always traveling from one place to another. The problem with taking the stairs is that by avoiding the escalators, you avoid the nagging urge to rest your legs, but you also miss the wonderful assistance of a machine that is designed to help you move. Escalators move at about the average speed of stair climbers, so whether you are a passive rider or a stair climber, you will both arrive at your destination at the same time.

Please Climb the Escalator

Personality type number three, my personal favorite, is the escalator walker. These are the people that truly have things figured out. They recognize the virtue of self-propulsion, exercise and personal choice, but they also recognize the fact that escalators were built to assist. By exerting the same amount of relative effort as a stair climber and also getting the assistance of the riders, the escalator walkers get where they are going twice as fast. 

I realize that this analogy is not perfect, but I would venture to say that it's pretty good. At any given moment, we are all likely to be making a decision about something. We can choose to do nothing or we can choose to do everything ourselves. Or better still, we can learn to ask for help and accept the benefits of the world that we live in without relinquishing our ability to effect positive change in our own lives. So at any given time, you can decide who you want to be and what path to take. So please help join me in encouraging everyone to just start walking up the escalators!

MyStuckMovingLife: One Year Later

Still Stuck, But Hopefully Moving Soon

For those of you who routinely read my blog, you've probably noticed that I tend to cover a wide variety of topics and I rarely post anything about my own personal life. My aim is always to generate discussions that focus on the core of our human experience, and often I feel that talking about progressive trends in cities is a great way to do this. I've been at this now for about a year and people ask me often what motivates me to continue and to be fully honest I'm never really sure, but I find it quite calming. I want to take the time to give an update not about the world that we live in, but rather about myself as a part of it.

When I first started blogging I chose the name MyStuckMovingLife and I always hoped that nobody would ask me why, because I did not really know the answer. But now I do. I realized that through most, perhaps all, of my life I've felt limited in one way or another, but I've always had a pervasive sense of optimism about the world. I've felt confined and held back, unable to push forward, but I've always hoped that one day things might be different. But now for the first time, it's really all about to be different.

Stuck

Most of you probably don't know much about me or about my life, because very few people do and you are probably not exactly sure what I mean when I say in a very vague sense that my whole world is soon to change. But here it is in a nutshell. I've spent the last three years at a college that was not in any way a good fit for me. For the entirety of my time I've felt drained, frustrated and held back from achieving everything that I want to. That's not to say that I haven't been successful; I'm graduating a year early with excellent grades. Simply put, I've been unhappy and unfulfilled. But I have 7 days left of classes and then it's all over. 

Moving

In one week I will reach the end of my 15 year formal academic career; the goal that I've been working towards for 75% of my life will be achieved. The next week I graduate and then only days later I fly to Europe for the vacation I've always dreamed of. I'll be reunited with one of my best friends who I haven't seen in a year, and she and I will travel to Prague, Rome, Florence and Paris together (which I'm sure will provide me with some great material for future posts). And then I will return and start full-time work and enter a new phase of my life, one that I hope to be rich and full of meaning. 

Life

It's almost surreal when I think about it, but this is really me. This is my life. I've spent the last 20 years preparing for "the real world" and now it's about to be right here for me to touch. But in some ways the role of the student, at least in my experience, is quite sad. You are told over and over for years on end that you have to prepare for the future and for what you want to do with your life. But all the while you are in fact alive; you are somehow "preparing" for your life while also living your life. It seems like a contradiction to me. I could tell myself that I won't start living until the day that I receive my diploma, but I simply can't accept that any longer.

I am and always have been an active participant in my own life, but it seems that I've only just come to accept it. I've spent preparing for this time, and I'm more ready than ever before to move forward.