Every Monday I post Real Life Minimalists, a profile of one of my readers in their own words. If you’d like to participate, click here for details.
This week we hear from Jonathan, who explains how minimalism helped him find his dream job. His story is a wonderful example of how minimalism applies to so many aspects of life—not just our stuff.
Jonathan writes:
Did you know that searching for your dream job leads to become a skillful minimalist?
I experienced this first-hand. I never knew what I wanted to do with my life. I tried many jobs, always feeling frustrated or even depressed. But I had that drive that an ideal job for me existed somewhere.
I had no idea how to find it. I didn’t know what I wanted or even what I was good at. School wasn’t helpful and I had no close relatives to guide me, no mentor, no older brother, nothing. But I wasn’t going to give up on that quest.
Entering into this journey of self-discovery, I had to overcome obstacles in various aspects of my life. I had to be more careful about my time, my relationships, the way I organized myself to work, everything.
- I realized that having a few solid relationships was way better than knowing many people in a superficial way, so I cut the meaningless ones.
- I realized that distractions – social media mostly – are usually not linked to fulfillment but to stress, so I cut them down.
- I realized that multitasking was not only bad for me but it killed my productivity and my ability to do any deep work, so I cut that down.
- I realized that not all foods were giving me energy, so I focused on the natural and efficient foods and I cut down on the greasy and sweet ones.
- I realized that peace and happiness didn’t come from status or the opinion of others but from my ability to appreciate what was around me… so I cut down the value I had in other’s opinions.
- I realized that having a lot of stuff didn’t bring me more joy but that owning less uncluttered my life. I made space for things that matter and as travel was part of my plans, I cut down anything that wasn’t light.
- I realized that jumping from project to project was not productive in the long term… so I said “No” to many professional opportunities that were not aligned with who I was.
As you see, lots of things were cut down to move further.
The quote from Meister Eckhart illustrates it well: “The soul does not grow by addition, but by subtraction”.
Minimalism was on the way to my evolution in so many aspects, and I’m thankful for where it led me: I now help frustrated employees identify and create a profitable and remote job they love. Funny, sometimes what you struggle the most with in your life turns out to be what you should do professionally…
One of the things I learned in the process was to assess a job opportunity. Sure, asking myself if I had the skills for the job was important but it wasn’t enough to find a great fit. Some questions were more useful for me such as “Does it fit my lifestyle?”, “Do I feel great about supporting this audience?” or “Will this give meaning to my life?”.
If you’re curious, I created a checklist called the “Opportunity Filter” that features 12 questions to help you evaluate your new career opportunities at https://yourecloser.co/filter
Finding my dream job was challenging, but the drive to reach my goal pushed me to improve myself in many ways. 3 lessons here.
First, come up with a big and inspiring goal. You won’t take action until you really want something.
Second, know that deciding to find a job you love will take you on an exciting self-discovery journey.
And third, when you find yourself cutting off something negative from your life, realize that minimalism is part of your evolution, for your own good.
{If you’d like to learn more about minimalist living, please consider reading my book, The Joy of Less, A Minimalist Living Guide, or joining my email list.}
I have a small amount of space and if I want something new, something else has to go. I give away several bags of clothing and craft supplies every week. A friend gave me a big stack of magazines. I kept three and passed the rest along. I got rid of a lot of card making supplies, too.
Love this expansive perspective on a minimalist life! Very much aligns with my own approach to stuff…food…work…and relationships. Opens so much space for what truly feels good. Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you Dana, happy you resonated with these words.
It does open space for more things that really matter…
Thank you for sharing your story. I especially enjoyed reading your wise words about what to cut down. Nice job of self-discovery!
Thank you MB and if it inspired you to cut a few things down, I did my job well ;)
These are some amazing realizations, Jonathan! Numbers 1, 2, 4, and 5 particularly resonated with me. Congratulations on your successful journey.
People give me craft supplies. I keep what I think I will use in one year. The rest goes to food pantries, 4H, Public Library children ‘s programs, or friends who have hobby groups. A large bottle of shampoo lasts me about a year. A bar of soap lasts over a month. We need so little but we have been conditioned to shop.
“Funny, sometimes what you struggle the most with in your life turns out to be what you should do professionally…”
Interesting. Food for thought. The other side of that coin is something that I’m experiencing: Sometimes your dream job is something you’ve been doing quite naturally all along but never paid attention to.
Either way, it’s a wonderful feeling to know your calling. Turning it into something that can support your earthly needs is a different story. I’ll definitely be looking at your Opportunity Filter.
Wonderful profile!
Thanks Tracy, sorry to see your comment so late!
True that our most valuable activities are sometimes hidden in plain sight.
Feel free to reach out if I can be helpful in any way.
Best.
Hola:
Me encanto tu relato, Y me identifico mucho con tus conclusiones.
Actualmente estoy en un proceso de cambio, donde me he alejado de muchas cosas superficiales en mi vida, incluyendo las redes sociales. Estoy en un proceso de redescrubimiento, donde me alento a buscar nuevamente ¿cuál es mi pasión en la vida?, ¿que me mueve?, ¿cual es mi misión?, ¿realmente quiero trabajar en esto toda mi vida?, ¿que aporte quiero hacer a la sociedad con todas las habilidades que tengo?…. estoy aplicando el minimalismo en muchas facetas de mi vida y definitivamente tu testimonio es de gran inspiración para mi.
Saludos
Disculpa que no vi tu comentario Miriam, pero me alegro lo que dices.
Es dificil pero tan importante de hacer este trabajo para despues poder actuar en la direccion cierta.
Si entiendes ingles, ofrezco muchos consejos aqui: https://yourecloser.co/
During this pandemic, I convinced my husband of 47 years to find a few boxes of things to give away. I give away bags of things to Goodwill or the local food pantry every week. Since Goodwill is closed, and I am only going out for medicine or food, I have boxes of clothing piled in a corner. I have two big bags of books and magazines for the library when it reopens. We are wearing old clothes around the house and saving presentable clothes for when we go out. I had 4 bars of soap in the house, a couple boxes of kleenex and 12 rolls of toilet paper when the craziness began. I never use paper towels because we always have rags which I wash and reuse. I have filled a big bag with recycling every day. I saved cardboard and paper for art projects which I will not be doing this spring. We have two boxes for the electronic recycling. And there is more.
I continue to fill bags for Goodwill and the library. I have also sorted through my kitchen cabinets. I have two boxes of glassware for Goodwill. I saved one small bowl or saucer from each set of China I am giving away. My kids don’t want all the stuff I have. I don’t use it or need it. I use stainless steel and Corelle and have for over forty five years. I never asked for good china or silver. My idea of a good time is ordering a pizza. My mother-in-law could have fifty people over for a sit down dinner. My mom never had more than twelve people over. I am trying to get down to just what I really use. I am trying to get rid of enough stuff that if I had to move into assisted living it would be easy on my kids.