#06 How To Become A Minimalist?

Lesson 6 How to get started with minimalism?

In this lesson,

You will learn a practical and intentional three-step method to get you started with your minimalist journey.

This method applies to every area of your life.

Don't worry,

It's not about letting go of the things that you love.

It's the opposite,

To make sure that you create more time and space for the things that you love in your life.

The three steps of this method are Step 1 Becoming aware Step 2 Action Step 3 Maintenance Our third step method has been created by people like you.

Real people facing real challenges looking for practical and effective solutions.

A holistic method that looks at your life as a whole.

This is really important.

We don't only look at the physical clutter,

We also look at the emotional aspect,

The mental health aspect,

And the importance of other key areas of your life,

Like time management,

Meal planning,

Finances,

Self-care,

Paper organization,

Business organization,

Parenting,

Etc.

That will help you create your desired lifestyle.

We don't believe in the one-solution-fits-all approach,

But after doing this kind of work for many years with many different people,

We have seen a natural progression,

And we have perfected our method to produce massive results in a very short amount of time.

Let's dive into each of the steps.

Step 1 Becoming aware This step is all about becoming aware of your current situation and understanding your needs and your wants.

This is the first step that needs to happen in order for you to be able to move into the action step.

You need to understand what's happening and why.

It's okay not to have answers yet,

But you know that whatever you are doing right now,

It's not working for you.

You are not getting the results that you want to see,

And you are tired and frustrated.

Expressions like,

I am done with this.

I need a change.

I need a fresh start.

I am overwhelmed.

I don't know how to get started.

I don't have motivation.

I feel stressed out.

I am anxious.

Are some of the examples that clearly define that you are becoming aware.

You are becoming aware of the change that needs to happen in your life,

The change that you are so deeply waiting for.

But how to get started?

Where?

And why do you want this?

Let me tell you that the fact that you are even asking these questions show that you are ready for change in your life.

Congratulations.

It takes a lot of courage to get vulnerable and admit that you need help.

We all need help at some point,

And it's okay to ask for it.

Remember the saying,

When you are ready,

The teacher will appear.

The first step in the awareness stage is to identify what's causing you the pain,

The frustration,

The stress.

When?

The sooner you can identify that,

The sooner you can move into the action stage and start creating good change in your life.

It's also very important to have a clear destination or goal in mind so that you can create an actionable plan of attack to get you there.

Can you imagine getting in a car and starting to drive without knowing where you are going?

Unless you are intentionally planning to get lost for fun,

You wouldn't do that,

Would you?

It's the same with your goal,

With your outcome.

You need to know where you are aiming for.

Some real examples of the awareness stage could be,

I feel frustrated when I get home from work.

Having so many things laying around make me anxious.

It reminds me of everything I still need to get done and I can't relax.

I want to have a clutter-free home that I can go back to after work to relax.

Another example could be,

I feel very anxious when the end of the month arrives.

I feel this way because I am unsure if I will have enough money to pay all the bills.

I could try to make more money and work more,

I could also be more intentional with my expenses.

Having a clear and easy to understand budget may help me stay on budget and even be able to plan for future fun stuff like vacations.

And this is another real example from a member of our community that shared her story.

It's very emotional and it shows really well how powerful the reflection process could be.

She says,

I am reclaiming my basement.

I was sharing my goals with my therapist and I had identified that the basement is a stressor that produces strong emotions for me.

He asked me what steps I needed to take and I did not know how to answer or where to begin.

I acknowledged that I felt frozen and stuck.

He told me to visualize what this room would look like when it was done and I was in a puddle of tears.

The anxiety that surfaced was phenomenal.

I went home and spent days going to the basement,

Looking at it and walking away.

I couldn't do anything.

Then one day,

I understood that moving my parents' items stored there reminded me that they had left Canada for their retirement and I somehow felt left behind.

Hey,

That was a powerful insight.

I understood that I needed to honor my grief.

So I stood there,

Cried,

Decided to reclaim the space and walked away.

I was fortunate to have the support of a PSW to keep me company as I processed the clutter over several sessions.

I am not done,

I do it in small doses,

But every time I stand back and see the progress,

It reduces my anxiety and I feel more comfortable that life moves on.

It's a pretty cool story,

Isn't it?

You are allowed to have a testing period of time if you are unsure of how to move forward or where to go.

But whatever you are doing now,

It's not working for you.

So it is better to do something than nothing.

Just try something different.

Even failures are great learning opportunities.

Sometimes they are necessary.

That will help you to move forward.

When setting your goals,

Remember to use the SMART formula.

What's the SMART formula?

The S stands for specific,

The M is measurable,

The A is attainable,

The R is relevant,

And the T is time bound.

So every time you set a goal for yourself,

Make sure that you follow this formula.

So make sure that it's specific,

It's well defined,

Clear,

That it's measurable with specific criteria that measures your progress.

It's achievable,

It's attainable,

And it's not impossible to achieve.

It's something realistic in your life right now and it's timely.

It needs to have a deadline because if you don't have a deadline,

Most likely it won't happen.

So remember to really understand why you want to do this.

So let's see a couple of real examples of goals.

This is the first one.

I want to feel better at home.

As you see,

It's not very specific yet.

The second version of this one is I want to organize my kitchen.

Now we have a specific space.

The third one and the best one is I want to clean and organize all the food in my fridge and pantry by May 15th and have a clear counter space.

You see,

That's a really good goal.

It's specific,

It's measurable,

It has a deadline,

And it's something that you can attain and it's important and relevant to you.

Another example,

I want to lose weight.

A better one.

I want to eat better and exercise more.

And the best one,

I want to create a weekly meal plan and exercise four times a week for 30 minutes.

You see,

The more specific you can be,

The easier it will be to move into the next step.

That is the action step.

Step two,

Action.

This is the most important and for some the most difficult step.

Whatever you have decided to change and do,

You now need to actually do it.

You need to take daily action or weekly action.

That's why support,

Accountability,

And motivation are so important to help you succeed and stay motivated.

Having a clear step by step tested method to follow is also essential to help you get to your desired destination.

This is why in the next lessons,

We are going to dive deeper into the different areas of your life,

Sharing clear and simple steps that you can follow to start making change right away.

Step three,

Maintenance.

Once you have taken action for a while,

It's very important to reflect about the changes that you created and how you feel about them.

You can change and tweak your plan as you need.

Some studies say that it can take up to 21 days to form a new habit.

Others say even a couple of months.

I believe that it depends on every person.

These steps will apply to organizing your home,

Organizing your calendar,

Organizing your business,

Organizing your family and social life,

Organizing your finances,

And organizing any other area of your life.

In the last lesson of this course,

We will dive deeper into some strategies that you can use to maintain all the changes that you are about to create.

In the next lesson,

You are going to learn how to include your loved ones in your minimalist journey so that they can help you stay accountable and motivated.