After almost ten years, my minimalist journey led me to the pursuit of being honest.

We commonly want to buy things we don’t need because we can’t sit and experience certain emotions.

For example, when we buy or bring excessive extras or duplicates of just-in-case items, we worry and surrender to our fear of needing something later.

When we buy things to please others, we are tapping into our fear of rejection or fear of being a social outcast.

When we say yes to attending an event or gathering, we agree to conditions we don’t want to because we are afraid that other people will be displeased with us.

The issue with dishonesty also applies to food.

We overeat because of our ancient human brain’s conditioning to eat as much as possible because of the fear of uncertainty. Your pre-historic counterpart doesn’t know when the next meal will be available. Modern humans have access to food at almost any time of the day and everywhere in the city.

Instead of tapping into our courage, creative thinking, and our ability to solve problems, we opt for the shortcut of buying things and agreeing to something we don’t really need and want in our life.

The problem with dishonest purchases and participation is an ongoing practice. Every time you buy something on impulse or say “yes to an event that you sincerely don’t want to go to, it’s developing your muscle or instinct or natural response of saying yes to something even if you don’t want to.

As a result, you shell out money, time, and attention for these things and have reduced your ability to allocate resources to the areas of your life in which you want to participate.

The more sinister effect of saying yes to almost everything is you have developed the practice of dishonesty by compliance.

You end up being dishonest about what you want, which often escalates into a vicious cycle.

The more stuff you thoughtlessly buy, the more silent lies you put out into the world.

Instead of admitting the truth, you suck it up and pretend to be agreeable.

I’m broke. I can’t afford it.

I’m not available. I have other things I need to do.

I don’t want to go.

Speak these magic words, and your suffering will end.

People will respond, “okay,” and be on their way.

Instead, we lie some more by saying yes, buying unnecessarily, or agreeing to something even if we don’t agree.

You are being completely cruel to yourself to please someone else.

A more significant consequence is that the lines between right and wrong get blurred with what’s offensive or socially acceptable.

And if we were to always go with what’s socially acceptable, I feel that you and I both know what happens next.

Saying yes because you are afraid and wish to make yourself invisible from the judgment of others does not match the practice of applying minimalism to your life.

Honesty is.


Thank you for reading.

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