Are you completing your 2021 reflections and starting to plan out 2022? You are likely looking for ways to make your year better and happier. Numerous varieties of experiences can make us happy in life. If you are exploring ways to find more happiness, perhaps it's time to explore and embrace minimalism.

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I have been a minimalist for seven years now. It took time, about a year. In the end, I learned to live happily out of one suitcase worth of physical possessions. I know that embracing minimalism in all areas of my life helped decrease anxiety, worry, and stress, thus increasing my happiness and morale.

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🛍 Consumerism and Attachment 

- Feel the need to impress others

- Pressure to appear and or become rich, important, and powerful

- Have a fear of losing their identity 

- Fear feeling empty or incomplete

There are two reasons why you should shift this mindset, reduce consumerism, and explore minimalism:

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⏰ Intentionality With How You Spend Your Time

Taking a minimalistic approach to every aspect of your life, such as your physical body, material possessions, place of living, and work, will leave you with more time to spend on things that matter the most to you. Thus bringing fulfillment in life, such as spending more time with family finding your life partner, or taking up a hobby that makes you happy.

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When you have fewer physical and digital possessions, you'll see that you have more time in the day or time in the week, and you will want to start exploring ways to make the best of it.

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🧘🏾 Increased Clarity, Confidence, and Happiness

Minimalism involves taking a lean approach to how you live your life, centering your life's well-being, and making decisions around what's most important for you personally. When you have less in your life and are content with simply having a roof over your head, a clean place to stay, food to eat every night, and friends/family that care about you, you have fewer negative thoughts, self-doubt, and bad feelings about yourself your life and your purpose.

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The clarity that minimalism brings you provides a space for you to focus on yourself and continuously improve who you are as a person in this world, helping you to become more confident in yourself. Happiness is the true core of what drives people to embrace minimalism: live a fulfilling and happy life. When you have less to care for physically and digitally, you have more to give to yourself; you have more to offer to help others and live your everyday life with purpose.