Living in a developing country such as Nigeria has a way of messing with one's mindset about having things. Everyone is in a mad rush to acquire things. From the government to the least of the masses, the majority of people are after how much wealth and materials they can acquire.
You speak to an average Nigerian youth and all their thoughts are how to make millions of dollars and have the largest fleets of cars and how they can build mansions in every corner of the world. Although it's very nice to be ambitious, the truth is our desire for wealth and supplies is caused not by need but by our own dissatisfaction.
Our crazy desire for materialistic things may be justified if it actually made us happy, but the increase in recent evidence suggests that it is not. Studies by psychologists have shown that there is no relationship between wealth and happiness. In fact, research shows that rich people, even billionaires are less happier than those with normal incomes.
However, our society is obsessed with pursuing a luxurious lifestyle full of expensive things, believing that it will bring more satisfaction. On the contrary, happiness and materialism are mutually exclusive, but they literally cannot have both at the same time and live a fulfilling life.
This means that you have to learn to get rid of materialistic tendencies in order to feel truly happy and fulfilling.
To someone like me living in a world of materialism, the distinction between wants and needs is essential for a meaningful life. It is imperative to promote the most valuable and reject the unwanted ones that cause distractions. It essentially defines a minimalist lifestyle...
Contrary to common belief, minimalism isn't living on a limited number of items. Instead, it's a learning process that helps people understand the need for things that people can live without and the removal of unwanted materialistic commodities that clutter our lives.
Minimalism helps us focus on our necessities and simplify our lives. It may seem impossible for consumption in this part of the world, but I will be sharing how I have learned to live a minimalist life here...
But First, What Does it Mean to Live a Minimalist Life?
Living a minimalist life to me means living a comprehensive lifestyle that provides a neat and minimalist environment with more space for something meaningful. Today's society is full of worldly pleasure and offers a long list of material products aimed at providing satisfaction. But living a minimalist lifestyle puts an end to the mad pursuit of the materialistic world around us. Living a minimalist life allows one to focus on one's needs rather than unnecessary desires. To live a minimalist life, you need to know how to make proper use of money, time, energy, and thoughts fruitful.
In today's overly-excited world, a minimalist lifestyle can reduce the impact that advertisement and selling companies have on our lives. This means that people stop buying more similar products to meet their desires. Therefore, minimalist life is a counterculture as opposed to a society that takes pride in having secular possessions.
A minimalist life therefore emphasizes the joy of striving and pursuing rather than owning.
What I've Learned...
So, in order for us to feel truly happy and fulfilled, we need to learn to get rid of materialistic tendencies. It's a process that doesn't happen overnight and can take months or years, but I feel the sooner the better. We need to recognize that people are made to be loved and respected and things are made to be used according to our needs. Unfortunately, the main reason our world is so chaotic today is that things are loved and valued more than people.
Corrupt leaders, dupes. liars, deceivers, extortioners are products of materialism.
It's a mindset and everyone needs to be conscious of this.
Only then can there be an actual change.
This is my first post in this community. So I can sort of call this my introductory post into this community.
This post by @artemislives inspired me to write this. I strongly believe minamalism is an issue of the mind and mentality. A poor man can be a minimalist and at the same time be a materialist. It just depends on how one views life...
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