I Hate Minimalism

Minimalism hasn't magically made me a happier or less anxious person. In fact, the moment in my life when I started owning one pair of pants coincided with being diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Minimalism is often touted as a way to make your life easier or less anxious. Decluttering my life hasn't solved anything, but it's given me clarity to focus on the difficult life challenges.

Challenges such as figuring out what to do with my career, tackling my relationship with self-worth and healing family relationships aren't simple or easy. When I have a moment of solitude, I no longer have stuff to keep my mind occupied. I'm convinced that in our modern world, our lives are built to never have any solitude. Between our phones, the internet, and all the stuff that we own, we can live our lives without any moment of peace.

In those moments of solitude, we're forced to face our worst nightmares - our own thoughts. Minimalism does little to tackle those worst nightmares.

But what minimalism does offer is a place of clarity. That clarity forces me to be honest with myself about the challenges that I can't fix overnight. This is where the rubber meets the road. I hate minimalism, not for the elitist culture or the snobby fans, but for forcing me to work on problems that have no easy answers.