On Mindful Minimalism & Designing our thoughts

When people think of "minimalism" they often think living with less possessions. It is imaged and personified as the perfectly edited closet, the must have desk “essentials”, the man who travels to 100 countries with only a small suitcase, or a perfectly-arranged array of items that fit neatly into a shiny new backpack.

But what if we applied these practices of design minimalism to our mental space?

What if we decided to declutter our mentality and purge the thoughts that don't serve us?  What woud happen if we try to purge the repetitive thoughts, worries and self-centered mental conversations that we most likely don’t have control over? Scaling our possessions and thoughts down to only what's essential requires a degree of prioritisation, and that requires getting very real our own personal goals and values.

In the words of Buddha:

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” - Buddha

To achieve this, your personal boundaries are likely to be tested. You may feel guilty for not engaging with the people you normally do at the level of thought and conversation. You might feel tempted by thoughts of self doubt, judgement and negative chatter in your mind. Without getting too flowery here, be reminded of the words of the Buddha. Might achieving minimalism of the mind be as simple as changing how you speak to yourself to be more mindful? 

To achieve mental minimalism, we must focus on the present moment. It requires focus on a positive future, and to be fondly reminiscent, but healthily unattached, to the past. 

As an exercise, rather than tidy your home next weekend, try focusing on tidying your mind. Whether through writing, meditating, or getting creative, focus o letting the mental clutter go by “tossing” away the thoughts and judgements that are taking up space and cluttering your mental closet.