The new age consumerism, advertising, and the consumer goods and services companies always try to sell more, grab your attention and feed your lives with stuff you "should" have, that you don't really need. Bigger TV, Smarter Phones, more clothing, and less peace of mind.

With every advertisement and every interaction, they leave you feeling that, what you have isn't enough, and you need to buy more.

We start living only to make money to buy things that we don't really need.

I am pro-money obviously, but the point is, we don't really have to spend our hard earned money into buying and consuming things that may not even make us happier.

Maybe we could increase our earning potential and spend it on something that we may find fulfilling, maybe we like to paint or to travel or to make connections or to write. Financial freedom, does have a good value and can help us do a lot of things that we otherwise would think twice of doing.

We try to fill the voids in our life with stuff, but in all honesty, that feeling is fleeting, buying gives us a temporary relief, and that's it. After a couple of days or a week later its back to normal.

You don't have to get rid of what is valuable to you. That's the point of the practice, to identify what is valuable to you.

Fashion changes every week, a trend being pushed by the big companies, they want people to buy the newer trends rapidly. Some of the companies even burn and tear their goods if left unsold, so that the immediate fashion is rendered useless, and people go for the next fix of 'latest fashion'.

Our self worth doesn't really reside in the variety of clothes we wear, its the quality of our life and our work that makes a difference.

This frequent out bursts of fashion purchases is causing many of us to throw away barely used clothes just because 'they are out of fashion'.

A lot of this ends up in the garbage and landfills, negatively impacting the environment.

This argument can be extended to any goods/services. Do we really need 2 TVs? 2+ Cars? Newer Phones(only after 6 months)? A lot of discontent and non-sustainability is caused by this kind of consumerism to individuals, as well as to the society.

On analyzing and considering what is really important to us, we choose to focus our attention on the things that matter.

This gives a sense of relief and calm, as now there are lesser things to worry about.

Minimalism is not about being a hermit/sage/hippie, no, its rather about being aware and in control of collecting and living the goods and experiences that really matter to us.

Before buying anything, there are some questions that you can consider and ponder upon.
Do I really need that? Does it have any utility in my life? Will it add value to me and those who are around me? Can I afford it? Can I manage life without making the purchase? Is owning this thing tied up with my self-worth or with my identity? Does it make me happy? Is that a necessary question?

I follow this technique many times and It has had a calming effect on me, and it gives me more room to breathe, both physically, and mentally. I like the idea and will apply it more.

Lets not get overwhelmed by all the things we don't have and take a good look at what we have and what we really need and that which makes us genuinely happy.