You're never "done."
June 19, 2021
The trap
One of the common traps of our time, especially in highly goal-oriented people, is wanting to be “done,” that is, once I’ve achieved that goal, then I’ll be done, and I will be happy. Predictably, once we actually get there, we just pick a different goal to obsess about. In our minimalist journey, it is typical to fall for the same trap. Once I only have X amount of Y, then I’ll be done.
Focus on the journey
Instead of obsessing over items we possess, we should focus on the journey and keep learning and adapting as we go along, pretty much like life itself.
Things always change. The 20 something-year-old has different needs and wants than you in your 30s and so on. It would be weird otherwise. While you might be able to fit your life in a backpack when you’re young and just want to travel around the world, do you really think your life will still fit in a single backpack when you’re raising two kids? Of course not.
What you need, what you want, and how much will be different for you to varying points of your life. And that’s OK. In fact, that’s normal and healthy.
Redefine and adapt
The only way to do this, pretty much like in any long-term endeavor, is without dogma or guilt and an open and flexible mind paired with good introspection and a hard look at your reality.
Look at your current life, needs, and wants and adapt what minimalist means and should be like to you.
Periodically set some time aside to think and revaluate what you’re doing and how you’re doing.
I am not sure about the “best” way, but it seems like a reasonable solution it has been working well for me over the years.