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REDEFINING WHAT MATTERS: STARTS WITH WHY

November 26, 2017


Just yesterday, I read an article about ‘Minimalism’.

For those of you who are not familiar with the term, it basically is a concept that encourages people to be intentional about the things they include in their life: possession, people, and ideas.

This concept supports living smaller, simpler lives – and strongly believes that less things equals to more joy. Some people stretch this concept to the extent where their living spaces consist of only things they really, really need in life.

Now, it doesn’t mean that I am going to promote minimalism starting today. The concept of minimalism encourages people to rethink what matters in a tangible way, such as clothes, food, or furniture.

But what I love most about this is it inspires me in a different way: to redefine what really matters by applying minimalism as a way of thinking. It simply means to declutter and refocus our thoughts to what truly matters and it starts with why.

Simple questions like: ‘Why do we do something’ – or ‘Why do we say something’ dissect our internal motives. Whether it is in the professional area or relationship matter, questioning ‘why’ helps our mind to determine whether or not the things we are about to do or say are important enough. Ideally, our whys should end up with these two answers:

TO INSPIRE

We say and do things for various reasons. Especially in the professional world, there are things we say and do because we want to be better than our competitors. Now, being ambitious is not wrong – but if we apply minimalism as the core of our thinking, then our aim should always be: to inspire. When we ask ‘why’, the answer shouldn’t be: to be smarter or better looking than A or B. Also not to earn more money than C. But to inspire the people we encounter along the way.

TO BE KIND

Particularly in the words we say, it is definitely not easy to hold ourselves back and only say kind words. For me personally, this is something that I need to practice everyday. It is as simple as asking why I say the things I am about to say, and hold back if it is not necessary or kind.

Minimalism encourages focus, and our focus should only be these two points. So today, before you decide on small or big decisions, try asking yourself one thing: why – and see if your answers revolve around being inspirational and/or kind.

Photo by Sharon Angelia

Makeup by Little Leeyah

Styled by Rhea Revren

Wardrobe by Hian Tjen

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  1. Hi Olivia, very well said! Love this post because it is so close to my heart: redefine what really matters and why. To be kind means to be considerate and hold back what we want to say unless it is something nice.

    By the way, beautiful pictures as always- you look beautiful in everything you wear!

    ~Alissa