3003: Deciding to Live with Less by Vic Magary with The Minimalists on Personal Growth

[00:00:00] It's a minimalist Monday edition of Optimal Living Daily Episode 3003 Deciding to Live with Less by Vic Magary with TheMinimalists.com and I'm Justin Malik, your narrator And I'm gonna keep today's intro nice and minimal as we optimize your life

[00:00:19] Deciding to Live with Less by Vic Magary with TheMinimalists.com I pulled into my driveway on a sunny March afternoon like I had hundreds of times before

[00:00:30] Before I exited my Jeep, I could see the screen of my kitchen window was shredded and a power cord from some electronic device was dangling from the sill It was clear that an unwelcome visitor had used the window as a point of exit from my home

[00:00:45] What was unclear was the condition of my beloved golden retriever, Kota. I cracked open the kitchen door and yelled for Kota The normal scurry of his nails across the wood floors was absent There was no bark of relief or whimper of fear.

[00:01:00] I was afraid that Kota either fled the house during the crime or was killed I called the police from my cell phone and waited outside Two police officers arrived and entered my home with guns drawn a few moments later

[00:01:14] Kota came barreling out of the house and into my arms Apparently the burglar's locked Kota in a bedroom while they alleviated me of most of my possessions They took my 46 inch television video game system and an assortment of handheld electronic toys from iPods to cameras

[00:01:31] I suppose you could say this started me on my path of minimalism, but you would be wrong The months that followed the burglary were some of the toughest of my life Not because my stuff was stolen But because just two weeks before the burglary

[00:01:48] I had shut down my martial arts school of six years and was going through bankruptcy And I couldn't find a job. I sold anything that I could get a dollar for to buy groceries and keep the lights on I sold all my DVDs

[00:02:02] Books and the old equipment remaining from my martial arts business Some might think this pushed me further down the road of minimalism and they would be wrong I didn't want to be a victim of a theft crime

[00:02:15] I didn't want to sell my fight club DVD to get cash to buy a meal Before the burglary I was leaning on my big screen television and video games not to mention A lot of beer to numb the woes of my business failings

[00:02:29] The last thing I wanted was to get rid of my stuff Eventually the emptiness I felt after losing my business shifted At some point I looked at myself in the mirror through another morning's hangover and I knew it was time to change

[00:02:44] I was ready to start putting the pieces back together I was gonna start with clearing my physical clutter. I made a decision to get rid of 10 items per day for 30 days Although most of my sales worthy possessions were already gone by that time

[00:03:00] I still had plenty of clutter to purge I started with donating old clothes and shoes to goodwill and soon crossed into territory of emotional crossfire Did I still need the karate uniforms that I used to wear when I taught my classes?

[00:03:15] Did I need the large yearly group photos of my former students? What about the black belt that I knotted around my waist nearly every day for six years? I kept the black belt and decided that everything else was redundant in the memories they cued

[00:03:31] With each drawer pulled and closet door opened there seemed to be an item I kept Unnecessarily for memory's sake. I evaluated material possessions that I had emotional attachment to and made the decision to let them go

[00:03:44] From an old broken cell phone with the first text from an old girlfriend To my prized punching bag I could vividly remember my father hanging in our old basement when I was 12 years old I realized memories are within us not within our things

[00:04:01] At the end of the 30 days two out of the three bedrooms in my home were completely empty The only furniture that remained was a bed, a couch, a pub table, and a chair. A small part of me felt free

[00:04:16] That taste of freedom made me question everything I owned I canceled my cell phone contract and funneled all calls and texts through Google voice I pared down my clothing to only what would fit in a single load of laundry

[00:04:30] With each item I relinquished my sense of peace and freedom grew. I gained a long missing sense of clarity And made a major decision. I Decided it was time for me to leave Columbus, Ohio my city of nearly 20 years

[00:04:45] I left my three bedroom house and moved into a 400 square foot studio apartment in Austin, Texas Within three hours of arriving in Austin. I drove to one of those huge car malls and sold my jeep

[00:04:59] I was ready to rebuild my life. I was ready to let go of the unnecessary stuff in my life These days I enjoy my new life in Austin I go to the gym take coda on about eight walks a day and

[00:05:13] Contribute to others largely in the areas of weight loss and fitness through my work online There's a pleasant flow to my life now because I made a conscious choice to eliminate the things whether they be Possessions persons or habits that disrupt my path of contribution and personal growth

[00:05:29] I'm streamlining towards strength and it started with a decision to live with less You just listened to the post titled deciding to live with less by Vic Magary with the minimalist calm Thank You to Vic another great personal story of peering down

[00:05:51] He gave himself the challenge of getting rid of 10 items a day and the minimalists have a monthly challenge where you try to get rid of

[00:05:59] One item on day one two items on day two and so on and I can tell you from experience that getting rid of like 20 items on day 20 then 21 items the following day that gets quite difficult

[00:06:14] Especially if you're not very new to this I'm sure I could do it again But for me just a constant reminder from reading these articles keeps me in a decent place I think I don't necessarily need a challenge to stick to but it definitely works for some and

[00:06:29] Sometimes it does take a big life change or some kind of struggle to make this happen Just like eating right or exercising we often get that kick in the butt which pushes us towards something better

[00:06:42] It's not the best thing to go through but it's how we grow and the silver lining in a not so great situation But hopefully simply hearing articles like this can help you so that you won't need a crisis to make some improvements in your own life

[00:06:56] And with that thank you for being here and sticking around Hearing reminders like this with me means a lot have a great start to your week, and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal life awaits