The first week of my foot injury I have been totally bound to the couch, just lifting and icing the foot until it was getting better to stand or walk on it. After that I was quite mobile but sport was still not in my repertoire, I am not going to start too early and risk more damage to my foot! As a replacement for sport I started to read books on minimalism and on creating free space in your head.
Those books seem to have a common feature, get rid of what you don’t need. Whether it is about people, a dvd collection or chores, if it is of no use you have to move on and put your time and effort in what actually matters. Stop wasting effort on friends who consume energy, stop wasting effort on avoiding a tedious chore at work, and stop wasting effort by being unnecessary stimulated by all the things you own. This will get you more time and energy to focus on good friends, family, travel, sport or whatever is important to you.
While being couch-bound, reading all those books, I started to get so annoyed by all the things in my living room. I started to recognize this ‘unnecessary stimulation’. So after my foot allowed me to at least move freely in my house I took a box and put things in there. Before I really noticed any difference in my living room, the box was already full and I took a bigger box. Then I started to clean out my clothes, my kitchen, my everything! After few bags of trash and a huge box almost full of good things, but not to be displayed any longer, I finally saw the effects of an organized home. Coming home was now more relaxing. As predicted by some of those books, I started to apply this minimalism in other areas of life as well, dreadful chores at work are the first things to be tackled and no more shopping for souvenirs on holidays. Also I am making my bed every morning and I do my dishes every second day! This is hopefully just the beginning of a lifestyle change, I cannot wait to experience where it will end.
During hikes I only focus on food, my body, navigation and where to sleep. This rewards me with the enjoyment of big views or small details. I believe this minimalism is a way to bring that relaxed feeling from hiking into my home. I hope to implement more minimalism in my life allowing me to focus on the things that are worthy. For now I enjoy my morning coffee more without the distraction of social media, pretty good start right?
Hike on!
The small list of books this blog is based on:
Mark Manson - The subtle art of not giving a fuck
Dennis Storm - Weg ermee (only in dutch I think)
Brian Tracy - Eat that Frog
LLoyd Chivandire - How to not fuck up your life
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