Why I Still Refuse To Identify As A Minimalist
“It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to.”
I’ve been living a minimalistic lifestyle throughout my adulthood.
Yet, I refuse to identify as a minimalist.
It’s not about what some other people might think, it’s about self-definition.
The reason is pretty simple.
When you decide to label yourself and adopt a title (any title) you limit yourself to specific boundaries. This applies to being a minimalist, a goth or a republican.
By identifying as one, you decide to belong to a larger group of people who also use that same label.
Saying something like “I’m a minimalist” is a statement. It means that I belong to a larger group of minimalists. It means that I represent the group’s values and beliefs. I follow the same principles.
Take writers here on Medium for example.
There are thousands of talented people who started writing purely because they have a passion for writing. Others had a desire to express themselves and tell their story.
But for many of those people, as soon as they take on that “writer” label they identify with a new group. Just like most writers nowadays they start being focused entirely on making money from their work.
While there’s nothing wrong about earning money from your work, they forget that their initial desire was to express themselves or share their story.
Eventually, they create content that (they think) people would like to read just to create content that will be a source of income.
(Like a shift from being a rock band to writing trashy pop music. Ahem Coldplay)
Your values ≠ your definition
“It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to.”
― W.C. Fields
Humans are designed to live as part of a tribe. We are designed to identify with a group. That’s why we immediately feel more obliged to help someone from our own country or village, for example.
But identifying as someone or something comes at a great cost. It limits you to that definition. Something that doesn’t necessarily align with your values.
What happens if you say “I’m a republican” but you’re actually against people carrying guns?
And here’s another example —
When I was a teenager, a good friend of mine used to love listening to metal music. He identified as a “metal-head.”
He had one problem though. He didn’t like wearing black clothes and he loved his short hair.
But in order to belong, he grew his hair, bought a leather jacket and wore boots.
The same logic applies to many who identify as “minimalists.”
They live according to the group’s rules which limits them to being a stereotype, someone who has specific traits and rituals.
They have to object another way of life — a consumerism driven lifestyle. People are amazing at replacing one addiction with another. Instead of extreme consumerism they think their lives will improve with the extreme opposite. But that’s not the idea of minimalism.
The concept of minimalism is pretty simple.
“What labels me, negates me.”
-Søren Kierkegaard
It’s about living within your means.
Finding out what your needs are gives you an incredible perpetual state of freedom. Then, you have the time to focus on who you are and what things (tangible and non-tangible) are worth your time and money.
It’s about pursuing the things that provide benefit to your life.
When you identify as a minimalist you look for an absolute term of value of benefit, something that your fellow minimalists agree on. Of course, it’s impossible because that does not exist.
I cannot recall the amount of times I’ve browsed through different websites and forums and read posts written by people who identify as “minimalists” debating whether they should declutter and remove their guitar or two jackets from their lives.
And that’s exactly what’s so wrong about it in the first place.
Minimalism isn’t about removing specific number of items from your house.
It isn’t about specific practices, steps or measurements you have to follow.
It isn’t about a specific set of rights and wrongs. It’s not a clear guidebook.
Treating it as such is missing the whole point of finding your basic needs and defining what’s important to you.
If you believe that the concept of living within your means will improve your life then you have to find a way to make it happen on your own.
That’s the beauty of it.
We are all individuals. We have different needs. We are passionate about different things. We find value in such a variety of stuff — from books and playing the piano to video games and movies.
There is no right or wrong here.
With a great definition comes great responsibility
Sometimes when you identify with something it comes with an unwanted responsibility. You feel obliged to live up to your definition and be aligned with the group’s values.
That’s why, for me, saying “I’m a minimalist” seems to be more limiting than contributing value.
Only once you follow the real essence of minimalism on your own, you can achieve the freedom that comes with it.
But maybe the word “minimal” is misleading, in the first place. Maybe that’s why some people keep being occupied with thoughts about decluttering instead of living within THEIR means.
Perhaps it should be called “meaningism.” That seems a little more accurate to me. Then, I’m pretty sure I would have identified as a meaning-ist.
What are your thoughts about labels and minimalism? How do you identify? I’d love to hear more about it in the comment below. 👇
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