“So much of our life is lived in a fog of automatic, habitual behaviour…” – an incredibly apt opening to Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things which I watched this afternoon. Every time I watch it, it gives me something different to think about and this time it made me think about habits.
Humans are creatures of habit. Habits help us survive, creating a filter to assist us when navigating a world filled with too much noise. Good habits can help us reach our potential but bad habits can hold us back.
As you know, I’m trying to form a new habit of enjoying simple Sundays and it’s proving a tough one for me. Take today for example, I started out by enjoying a beautiful (but blustery!) stroll along the seafront. But then I came home and did two loads of washing, some paperwork for my 9-5 and some filing.
Before I knew it, mid-afternoon was upon me and I was wondering where my day had gone. That’s when I made myself stop, sit down and watch the Minimalism documentary.
Minimalism – A summary
Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things centres around Joshua Fields Milburn and Ryan Nicodemus, as they talk about their journey towards minimalism and the impact it has had on their lives. As young men, their aim in life was to make large sums of money, assuming that this would bring them happiness. But when they hit corporate success they realised that happiness was as elusive as ever. Then Josh discovered minimalism and the rest is history.
The documentary encourages viewers to live more with less. It suggests that happiness isn’t found in our posessions but in our relationships and experiences. It also highlights how modern society is set up in opposition to this, by encouraging us to constantly buy and consume – something that taps into our innate hunter gatherer nature and reinforces our habit to spend. Yet we never truly take the time to appreciate what we have before moving onto the next thing. As a result, the cycle of consumerism continues and people go deeper into debt.
The documentary shows us that a different life is possible, one that can make us happier and more fulfilled, if we take the time to truly appreciate what we have.
The Minimalists
If you’re interested in viewing the documentary it’s available to stream on Netflix or you can find other ways to view it here. For anyone who’d like to learn more about minimalism then I highly recommend Josh and Ryan’s blog over at The Minimalists. They also do regular podcasts containing thought provoking discussions on how to live more with less.
A not-so-simple (or minimal) Sunday
I certainly feel very accomplished for tying up some loose ends today, especially as some of them had been playing on my mind and putting me under mental strain. But I also know that my go-to habit seems to be busyness. I need to accept that there will always be something to do and I just need to give myself time to stop and recharge.
So I’m going to put a note in my diary and re-commit fully to simple Sundays -I’m going to reread this post too. Who knew that taking a day off could be such hard work!