Longevity logo

I'm Overcomplicating It

How I (accidentally) became a minimalist

By David WangPublished 5 years ago 2 min read
Like
Here's everything I almost NEVER used this summer.

Okay, so I have a decent camera for video and photos, good video editing software, and a mission in my heart to help my people. Why in the world can't I bring myself to create content?

I started this summer with many hopes and dreams. Those hopes and dreams are very much still alive, but I discovered one huge problem: My life is hella cluttered.

I thought I was off to such a great start, too. I made an itemized list of everything that I took with me on my summer entrepreneurial quest. At the beginning of the summer, I counted 159 items. I re-counted last week and discovered that I came back home with 523 items.

What. The. Hell. Happened?

Many videos ago

I vaguely remember Simon Sinek recalling an anecdote years ago after a run with a friend. There was a line for free bagels. Simon saw the bagel. His friend saw the line.

Source

That’s what clutter in my life did

It prevented me from seeing the bagel because I surrounded myself with everything that was in my way instead of everything that I wanted to chase.

So, what did I want to chase? As an entrepreneur, I wanted to find my people that needed me. I wanted to meet people on the street, on the internet, and wherever I could find them.

So, what did I carry with me? I needed my camera to shoot, my iPad to edit, and my phone to post on Instagram. Sounds easy enough. Obviously, I needed a way to hold my camera, and a way to charge my iPad, phone, and camera. What about data transfer? What about backups? What about laundry? A few hours of this back and forth in my head led me to pack 500 things instead of the couple of things I legitimately needed in my head.

The worst part? I wasn't pushing out content. I mean, I tried for a little bit, but couldn't get into a flow for more than a couple of weeks at a time. In a way, I also packed 500 things in my head as well.

I overcomplicated the way I create content in the same way that I overcomplicated what I needed this summer.

Maybe I should start seeing the bagel more often. The bagel becomes easier to see if I just imagined that the line wasn't there. What is the line in this metaphor? Clutter. Immediately, there's one group of people that come to mind when it comes to reducing clutter: Minimalists.

Long story short, I think I became a minimalist.

I mean, I'm probably a pretty terrible minimalist, but leaving many of those things behind has lifted a literal weight off my shoulders, but has also encouraged me to "see the bagel" better by making a post on Instagram that I should have posted a week ago, by brushing excuses that I would have made otherwise, and overcomplicating things less frequently. This is only the beginning of my journey. Only time will tell whether or not being a minimalist is truly right for me.

You don't have to be a minimalist to have your life together or anything, but practicing minimalism can help you see more of the bagel.

What do you guys think? Are you a minimalist? How do you wake up every day and "see the bagel?"

lifestyle
Like

About the Creator

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.