Minimalism for the Overthinker
Simplicity, clarity, and minimalism - those are the answers given to overthinkers in order to solve all their problems. As on overthinker myself, I know how difficult it can be to organize our thoughts and to make decisions. Whereas something is so simple for almost everyone else, we tend to always overcomplicate the matter.
Over the last couple of years, I decided to try out a more minimalistic lifestyle. Let me tell you - the benefits are astonishing for overthinkers! By embracing a system that places intentional value on every little item, I was able to find a breakthrough that allowed me to stop overthinking as much as I used to.
People often question whether minimalism has any true benefits outside of physical decluttering. I’d explain to those people that minimalism is so much more than just the physical means of decluttering.
Minimalism is the intentional promotion of value to things we most value by eliminating things that distract us from these values.
Intentionality
At the core of a minimalist lifestyle, you are forced to become more intentional. By becoming more intentional in our choices, we, in turn, force our lives to improve in almost any and all aspects.
If you’re an overthinker like me, you know how difficult it is to come to decisions, only to wallow away and wish you didn’t waste all that time. Intentionality allows you to jump-start your values and prioritization process in life to make everything that much simpler. No two individuals will have the same introspective journey, but it will provide the much need deep dive into our value system and passions that would have otherwise been overlooked.
Less Possessions
Ok, I know.. this is likely the first idea that comes to mind when you hear about minimalism but hear me out. By freeing yourself of the desire to possess for the sake of possessing, you’ll remind yourself of what truly matters and see how grateful you already are. This practice will go hand in hand with becoming intentional.
Once you rid of your fidgety fingers that always seem to be hovering over the “buy” button on your favorite ecommerce store, you’ll have to seek mental peace and comfort elsewhere. For overthinkers, this is quite the daunting proposition since our minds are already filled with so many thoughts to sift through. Worry not, as seeking happiness elsewhere in intentional relationships, experiences, self-care, etc. will provide you the abundant life you’ve been craving for and thinking about anyways.
Relational Duplicity
I’ll be the first to admit that we all unintentionally live different types of lifestyles and put on different faces whenever we’re around our friends, family, professional colleagues, neighbors, etc. Different people, environments, and circumstances mold us to a particular lifestyle choice. We constantly oscillate between different personas based on the situation, thus wearing ourselves out in the process.
Minimalism provides for a simple lifestyle that is consistently one unit. No matter the situation you’re in, you’ll find comfort in knowing that your lifestyle and personality can be transferrable. Whether you’re out with friends, colleagues, a romantic partner, etc., your lifestyle and personality decisions will be dependent, honest, and unwavering.
An Internal Quest
The external, physical world only encompasses truly a small part of the practice and principles of minimalism. You can do all the physical decluttering and minimalistic practices out in the external world, only to still feel like you need to search internally even more.
Fortunately, embracing a minimalist lifestyle will lead to a changing of heart. As you begin to shed away the external clutter, you will have enabled and created a space for yourself to address the deepest internal issues that affect your thoughts, relationships, and life at large.
Now I think I know what most overthinkers are thinking right now:
It’s easy for you to say that embracing a minimalistic lifestyle is easy.
We can take small baby steps to start off with, and, over time, I’m almost certain you’ll find peace and comfort provided in the intentionality and clarity of thought that minimalism creates. You can even start right now with these simple steps:
Take a look around yourself and note every object
Think back to why you purchased the object in the first place
Determine the value of the object at the time or purchase vs. now to see if anything has changed
In following these simple steps, you’ll come to a clear understanding of what matters to you (more info on that here). In turn, this will subconsciously start to rewire your brain and thought patterns.
Minimalism for the overthinkers will drastically help you remove the distracting thoughts and see the forest through the trees. Much of the external world has a direct influence on the internal worlds we create for ourselves, and this couldn’t be any more true for overthinkers from personal experience.
Once you’ve physically decluttered your space, you’ll be readied to take on the more difficult task of mentally decluttering your mind. I’ve talked about ways to declutter your mind in previous posts on journaling, meditating, and building habits / routines, so I won’t delve into those too much.
At the end of the day, I’ve personally found minimalism to help overthinkers overcome their greatest weakness: decisiveness. As an overthinker, decisions have been a personal enemy of ours since they place stress on us to define the situation and circumstance. Minimalism allows you to finally make those decisions you need to make instantly and do so comfortably with ease.
Go out and enjoy the freedom that comes with minimalism, both in terms of your physical space and internal being! For all you overthinkers out there - I know how difficult it is to even embark on this journey, but I’m hoping I was able to provide the foundation and encouragement necessary to get your journey going. If you ever get stuck, you can always come back and do it again. Embracing a minimalist lifestyle is not a linear process - it will have ebbs and flows to it. The most important thing is that we have a large community and actionable steps available to work with and through in order to continue your journey. Happy minimalist living to my overthinkers’ tribe!
“Simple pleasures are the last healthy refuge in a complex world.” - Oscar Wilde
