The Minimalist Philosophy: The Cheaper your Pleasures Are, The Richer You Will Be
Some people think that money equals happiness, but that’s wrong. Yes, money is important for basic necessities, but you can choose how to be happy just with the money you have. Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher believed that to be happy, we don’t need extravagant, fancy, expensive pleasures.
This philosophy of life is called the minimalist philosophy. Epicurus himself, during his lifetime chose a simple life and didn’t need much to be happy. He ate bread and cheese, enjoyed weak wine, and discussed philosophy with his friends. Here is everything you need to know about the minimalist philosophy: the cheaper your pleasures are, the richer you will be.
Rich Is Not Always About Money
Having a lot of material possessions and money doesn’t really make someone rich. Most of the time, wealthy people are so afraid of losing what they have while at the same time also craving to accumulate more and more money and possessions.
With those two combined, they usually live a stressful life, isolated themselves from the common people, and mistrust people, even their own friends and family members. To have enormous material wealth, you need to make sacrifices.
For example, if you work eight hours a day, sometimes even more because of the overtime, you barely have time to spend with your family, rest, let alone pleasures which are essential for everyone’s mental health and wellbeing.
Not only that, working tirelessly can be harmful to your physical health too. According to a study conducted by the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, working more than 40 hours continuously can increase the risk of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease.
Working hard to gather as much money as you can, comes with a really significant impact for your physical health, mental health, relationship with your family or partner, and overall well-being. So you need to ask yourself whether it’s all worth it or not.
If you already decided that it’s not worth it, then why chase things that make your life miserable? Sometimes, rich is not always about money. You can be rich of time, rich of time with your loved ones, and then rich of happiness.
Cheap Pleasures
The minimalist philosophy: the cheaper your pleasures are, the richer you will be. Pleasures don’t have to be having fancy cars, drinking and partying every night in exclusive clubs, spending a lot of your money. If you do that, the more you will crave them, and the little things will become less and less meaningful.
The sad thing is, most people do all of that stuff not because they enjoy it, but only to impress as many people as possible. While a lot of people choose to focus to impress other people, you can choose to focus on yourself.
Pleasures can be simple and cheap, like reading a book on your balcony, going to the nearest beach, going to see a movie in a theater, learning a new hobby, taking a trip with your loved ones, or just eating out somewhere nice. Do not let people determine what is pleasing to you, you have to decide for yourself.
So that is all you need to know about the minimalist philosophy: the cheaper your pleasures are, the richer you will be. The cheaper your pleasures of choice, the less effort and time you will need to get them, and then the more you’ll be enjoying not wishing for anything else, that is the ultimate form of minimalism. Choose what’s best for yourself, and good luck!
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