Less is more: The minimalist lifestyle 少即多：極簡(jiǎn)主義的生活方式

龔紹林

真正的極簡(jiǎn)，是由內(nèi)到外延展的一種極為可貴的精神品質(zhì)，是不拘于外物的寶貴追求。物質(zhì)極簡(jiǎn)、信息極簡(jiǎn)和欲望極簡(jiǎn)是實(shí)現(xiàn)極簡(jiǎn)生活方式的必由之路。

The minimalist lifestyle needs to be considered only after we own more than we need. Nowadays， the rapid development of the society has brought a lot of wealth and material possessions， which has become a burden for many. In addition， the fast-paced life we have today makes us busier than ever and we have less time to do something relatively unimportant. Therefore， I think a minimalist lifestyle is necessary to help people ease their burden and focus on the best part of life.

Although I'm not a strict practitioner of minimalism， I do benefit a lot from a simpler life. When I got employed in 2018， I wasted my salaries on lots of clothes， shoes， cosmetics， books and food to enrich my life. However， piles of things made my room messy and a lot of stuff had to be thrown away unused.

About one year ago， I laid my hands on a book named Danshari， which encourages people to cut out unnecessary stuff， throw away junk and step away from their obsessions. Following the instructions， I started to change my lifestyle and surprisingly found out that my life is much better with less.

Another bad habit I have worked hard to change is spending too much time on my phone as a means to release myself from the work stress. A lot of my valuable time was wasted on various time-killing apps which didn't do much good to my self-improvement.

Adopting a simple life can be a bit challenging and needs constant effort. Here are some tips I find helpful. First， concentrate on things that are really important and meaningful. Second， access to information should be simple and well-targeted; reading books is a good alternative to meaningless social interaction and time-killing apps. Third， purchase fewer goods with better quality and tidy up your room regularly.

A minimalist lifestyle isn't equal to austerity （樸素）. It's a habit we can form to simplify our life. With less desire both materially and mentally， there will be more room for self-improvement， happiness and inner fulfillment.

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