Beware The ‘Keeping Up With The Joneses’ Trap Of A Minimalist Lifestyle

Minimalism is having a moment. At its core is a useful message about conscious consumption and mindful living, which is great. However, as minimalist Anthony Ongaro points out, many people make a common mistake with minimalism: They turn it into a lifestyle trend they have to keep up with.

People have different ideas of what minimalism should be, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with simply appreciating it from an aesthetic or design perspective. The problem is, many people gravitate toward the “less is more” lifestyle only to turn it into another thing they consume. Ironically, they fall into the same “Keeping up with the Joneses” trap in trying to consume minimalism. In the above video, Ongaro puts it this way (emphasis ours):

A common mistake that I see is people taking minimalism and using it to create just another impossible standard to live. Don’t let minimalism become just another one of those things that you feel like you need to continually work towards or something like the image of the perfectly white wall and white bedspread and just filled with natural light. It doesn’t have to look like that… You don’t have to purchase a new more minimalist bedspread. You don’t have to purchase a more minimalist table… you don’t have to do that to embrace the freedom that choosing to consume less and own less can give you.

You can buy all of that stuff, but the philosophy of minimalism isn’t really about buying more stuff to keep up with a cool, trendy lifestyle. Ironically, it’s quite the opposite. If you were turned onto minimalism because of its message about mindful consumption, it’s something to watch out for. Ongaro has a lot more insight on the topic, so be sure to check out his full video above or at the link bellow.

Avoid This One Minimalism Mistake [Break the Twitch (YouYube)]