What we truly value often has attention taken away by tangible distractions and perceived ideas of perfection. Our lives have grown more complicated, filled with an idea to compete in a fast paced, achievement driven society. This idea has captured many, concealing us in a one lane road leading towards consumption and comparison. As many are caught in this movement, the modern world has seen a trend in opposite direction, one towards a deeper understanding of values, beliefs, and success.
Minimalism is that trend. I have seen the idea of simplification sweeping across the world in design, fashion, fitness, nutrition, even in home decor (thanks Joanna Gaines). The idea of minimalism is simple in itself, less is more.
What does it mean to be minimalist?
My journey with a minimalist lifestyle started as I discovered I wasn’t feeling a great sense of achievement and satisfaction in my work life, social life, or spiritual life. I was stressed, anxious, and dissatisfied with myself. I didn’t lack any resources or quality personal relationships. It was actually the opposite. I realized I had consumed a lot of “stuff” and made myself busy with tasks and ideas I didn’t truly care about. I was overwhelmed, obsessed with pleasing others, and fell pray to the comparison game of social media.
Minimalism was my answer. It was achieving more with less, simplifying the aspects in my life to regain true understanding of my values and the tasks I wanted to complete. I started to apply this idea of minimalism to 4 areas of my life and have experienced tremendous ease and peace, not to mention I feel physically fit and more energized than ever.
Simplify Your Nutrition
To simplify your nutrition, first identify foods and drinks that you want (cravings) and need (natural nutrient dense items). Try to eliminate the foods that you don’t necessarily need in your life, the ones that are causing more harm than good. The foods you choose to eat should be natural whole foods, ones with little to no ingredients list. With those food choices decide on staple meals, ones that are your favorites, could easily prepare, and could eat weekly. A minimalistic idea on nutrition might just be the correct view you’ve been looking for, as it definitely made a difference in my decision making.
I started a boring diet. I simplified my nutrition by trying to only consume chicken, fish, beef, pork, vegetables, fruits, oils, and nuts. This idea gave me a clear direction in my everyday meals and food choices. Chicken, broccoli and sweet potatoes became a staple. Grilling burgers or steaks with seasoned and charred brussels sprouts, onion, and pecans was another favorite. Stir fry is also simple and a favorite of mine.
Along with my boring, yet effective diet plan I started intermittent fasting. I drank bulletproof coffee in the morning, took vitamins and minerals, and didn’t consume anything but water until 12:00pm everyday.
By simplifying my nutrition I decreased inflammation in my body, leaned out even more, became more energized, spent less time prepping meals, and saved money at the grocery store.
Minimize to Maximize Your Exercise Routine
Eliminate the unnecessary details so that you can maximize your fitness results. A simple and consistent exercise routine may seem boring compared to the training program that professional athletes are completing or even less extravagant than the bro at the gym with the cut off t-shirt and overly tanned skin. To get results you don’t need to balance on a bosu ball or use 5 different pieces of equipment in the same routine. Performing quality movements with some sort of overload (resistance, reps, sets, time, etc.) is more than enough to reach your fitness and physique goals. You should concentrate on quality, not quantity and strive to do fewer things better.
To maximize my fitness results in the weight room I stuck to a very simple plan. I performed 5 simple movement variations throughout the week – squat, hinge, push, pull, carry. These are all compound movements (movement with two or more moving joints) that give your body the most bang for it’s buck. I have very basic reps and sets schemes depending on my goals and program. I also incorporate short, simple interval training to get a cardiovascular response. I spend 45 minutes in the gym maximum, have fun while I’m there, and move on with the rest of my life.
Interested in online personal training? I’d love to connect and give you more information on how I can help you achieve real results using an effective approach.
Declutter Your Space
Have t-shirts you never wear? Items you purchased and forgot to return? Impulse buys that aren’t serving a purpose in your life? We have been targeted by companies with marketing schemes to consume, consume, consume. We end up with more than we need, and way more than what is purposeful in our lives.
I found myself overwhelmed by the amount of unnecessary “stuff” in my life. I decided to start donating and selling items that weren’t serving a purpose or weren’t directly making me happy. I donated clothes, shoes, and hats to Goodwill. I sold and gave away equipment that I hadn’t used in years. I cancelled cable. With this came a sense of emotional peace, allowing me to stop wasting energy on making unnecessary decisions throughout my day. That energy has been refocused to other areas in my life. I now spend more time reading, writing, playing, exercising, learning new hobbies, and hanging out with family and friends.
Declutter Your Mind
We can consciously choose the thoughts we want to occupy our lives. Our thoughts paired with the physical choices we make can cause worry, anxiety, stress, happiness, excitement, thrill, etc. By determining our values, what is meaningful to us, we can then work at dismissing the rest. This kind of clarity can give your life incredible depth. By taking a minimalistic approach to other areas in our lives it takes us on a journey past valuing “things”. By simplifying our lives, we disarm our anxiety and make room for the most important things, which actually aren’t things at all.
“The less you do, the more you do… Do less.”
