Getting to the Way of Less
Getting to the Way of Less
By Leo Babauta
Once you’ve identified the essentials(əˈsen(t)SHəl), getting to the Way of Less is the next part of the journey(ˈjərnē).
We won’t go into the details(dəˈtāl, ˈdētāl) of it right now, but here are some key points to this journey:
Identify the essentials. As we talked about in the section above, it’s important to identify what’s most essential to you — in your life, digitally(ˈdijidəlē), with your possessions(pəˈzeSHən), projects, and so on. Get clear on this.
Start decluttering(ˈdēklətər) the rest, one chunk at a time. Now start to let go of the rest. Do you have big commitments, projects, activities that have been taking up your time but not on the essentials list? Start to let them go. Do you have a lot of clutter beyond your essential possessions? Start to let those go as well. Digital distractions, huge reading and watching lists, all of the aspirations(ˌaspəˈrāSHən) that you don’t have time for — start to let them go! Just a little bit at a time — otherwise it can get overwhelming. It’s the same as how you eat an elephant: one bite(bīt) at a time.
Learn to cope(kōp) (and thrive(THrīv)) without the buying & overdoing. Now here’s the thing we need to start to shift, in the Way of Less — not needing to buy things to deal with stress, sadness, loneliness(ˈlōnlēnəs). Not needing to always be busy. To be willing to feel what we feel, and be OK with it — that’s a key skill. It starts with meditation, but cultivating(ˈkəltəˌvāt) the capacity(kəˈpasədē) to be present with your feelings is a lifetime practice. It’s what we train with in my Fearless Training Program — you can start with the Fearless Purpose training package.
Find joy in the things that matter to you. Now that you’ve let go of most of the non-essential things, the key is to stop looking for happiness and comfort in everything else … and start finding the joy in the things that you’ve kept. The things that matter most to you. Find joy in very little. This is another lifetime practice, but you can do it today. Find one thing on your short list of essentials (like my mission, loved ones, learning & healthy life), and see if you can find joy in it.
Start saying no to the rest more often. And here’s another key step that we often forget about — once you create some space for the things that matter, stop saying yes to everything else. As much as you’re able to. Don’t let things creep(krēp) back in. I have to either keep this front of mind, so that I am saying no as a general rule … or come back to it when I start to forget. I know that I’ve forgotten when I don’t have enough room for what’s important.
Enjoy the space. It’s not just finding joy in the things that matter. It’s also finding joy in having some breathing room. Having some space. Not needing to keep doing, but to stop and just be. Just notice. Just breathe. Relax(rəˈlaks) into it. Very few people actually allow themselves to do this, without needing to fill everything up with reading, watching, doing, responding, talking, moving, acting. Enjoy the empty space, as if it were just as important as all the rest.