What Is Minimalism?

The Roadmap to Becoming Minimalist 

The word minimalism can have a wide range of meanings. The word originally derived from an art and design background – simply meaning a trend in art and design in its most basic and simple form. However, these days the word minimalism is widely associated with personal development, giving it a new perspective in terms of simply living with less. Today, I am going to touch base on minimalism from my own perspective.

Different people can define minimalism from different angles. What is a minimalistic lifestyle for me may be living with too much stuff for someone else, and vice versa. The way I look at a minimalistic lifestyle is – living a simple life with only the things that are absolutely necessary to survive.

To become a minimalist and live a simple life, there are steps to be taken, and these steps may not be as simple and easy as it sounds. We are programmed by our society to believe and act certain ways from our childhood. You need to break out of the cycle. Some people will never be able to find peace and solitude in living with less stuff and living a simple life. For those who can do it, it’s a rewarding life beyond imagination; it’s a worry-free life free from clutter, possessions, and stress.    

I am going to mention some steps you need to take, and some work you need to do on your way to becoming a minimalist:

- Buy less 
- Consume less 
- Get rid of the unnecessary 
- Slow down 
- Live a simple life 
- Create more 
- Unclutter your life 
- Unclutter your mind 
- Unclutter your home 
- Let it go 
- Help others 
- Educate yourself 
- Breath 
- Appreciate your moments on earth

These are some of the elements that you will travel with on your journey towards becoming a minimalist. However, there are endless ideas and possibilities you will come up with once you start going through the minimalism door on your own. And that’s the most rewarding and fun part of it – finding out what more you can do make your life simple and with less stuff. I cordially invite you to build your roadmap and start your journey right now on your way to becoming a minimalist.

Saying No Is Actually A Positive Thing

How To Say No

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Simplepersonaldevelopment.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to Ahmed Dawn Dot Com. This article originally published on the above website on Jan 1, 2012

Although we may associate “No” with a negative assertion, it can be actually a very positive thing you can do – depending on what type of “No” it is. Today, I will discuss some simple ways to say “no” to take charge of your life and time.

 Why Say No 

- There are only so many hours in a day. Saying “no” to unproductive and time wasting things will   
make you a lot more productive. 
- Saying “no” to a new commitment which you won’t be able to handle will give your existing projects 
more time to finish with a quality outcome. 
- When we are stressed, depressed, and burned out from our modern day rigorous time consuming and high-paced activities, saying “no” will free up time to relax and wind down.    
- Saying “no” is respecting your time and respecting yourself. It will eliminate tasks that you don’t   
enjoy and will free up time to pursue your goals and dreams.

Simple Ways to Say No 

Say No With A Smile – Saying “no” is a lot simpler when you add a genuine smile to it and avoid a serious face. Also, the person you are saying “no” to will take it a lot easier way if you say “no” in a smiling face.

Add A Brief Explanation – If you add a short explanation to the reason behind your saying “no,” the other person will understand it and will not get emotional or reactive. However, stop giving out an essay. Explaining too much will make it worse and the other person will think that there is something to it.

Don’t Lie – Avoid making up reasons that aren’t true for excuses. Most likely, the other person will be able to guess that it’s a lie from your body posture and voice tone.

Delay Your Response – If you feel that saying “no” will be difficult and likely to cause an emotional outburst from the other person, instead of saying “no” right away, take some time and reply back at a later time. This works because if you say “no” at a later time, the other person will not be on a full alert to hear “no” (than when she proposed) and it will have less impact than the first time.

Offer An Alternative Solution – There will be times when you just simply can’t avoid it in a full scale. Offer something different and acceptable, yet keeping it within your means, so it does not cause you too much time and stress like the initial request.

Saying “no” at the right time will save you a lot of time later. As you get better with saying “no,” you will be able to manage, simplify, and reduce stress a lot better than before.

Why Rushing Actually Slows You Down

Stop Rushing to Become Productive and Save Time

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Simplepersonaldevelopment.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to Ahmed Dawn Dot Com This article originally published on the above website on Dec 17, 2011

You have seen them everywhere – people rushing to everything they do, 24/7. They have become so habituated to rushing that it has become a norm in their daily living. Ever wonder why and where they are rushing to reach? Will it be ever possible for them to sit back, relax, and enjoy a moment life has to offer? 
Today, I am going to describe why rushing actually slows you down, and if you were rushing until now, it is time to take your time to concentrate on the moment and achieve the most out of your life.

Rushing is Unhealthy – Rushing will make you unhealthy and will shorten your life. Rushing increases stress hormones and also increases inflammation in the body. Rushing also has been linked with obesity as rushing leads to overeating and unhealthy eating habits.

Lack of Focus – When you rush, it is impossible to focus on doing your best on what you are doing at present. If you don’t concentrate and put in your best, your results will be sloppy and you are actually lagging behind in the long run with the poor quality and performance.

Wasting of Time – When you rush, you think that you are saving time. But actually, you are wasting your time. If you are not taking your time to produce something at its excellence, you will eventually end up doing the same thing over and over – taking a lot more time had you done the same work taking your time in the first place.

Lost Opportunities – When you rush, your intention is to finish what you are doing as fast as possible – and nothing else. This leads you to missing opportunities, ideas, improvement, and much more. When Newton saw an apple falling from the tree, if he was rushing to see it, he would not have discovered gravity. When you rush into something, you missed all opportunities associated with it.

When you do not appreciate life and the time you have and rush into everything, you won’t be able to better yourself and appreciate the limited time you have here on earth.

How Not to Give Up on the Gym

How to Continue Going to the Gym Forever 

We all know that regularly going to the gym and making it a lifetime habit is something we all want, but very few of us can actually hold onto it long enough to reap the benefits. Once we start going to the gym with lots of enthusiasm and optimism, most of us would vigorously go to the gym for the first three months. Then for the next three months to six months it would turn into an occasional venture, rather than a regular one. After nine months to one year, the whole enthusiasm and optimism would die down and most of us would never again put our feet on the gym doorstep. Are there any steps we can take or things we can do differently to hold onto going to the gym for good? Today, I am going to talk about the steps I take to continue going to the gym or doing any physical activities forever.

I started yoga when I was 16 and I started going to the gym roughly 7 years ago. And I have been continuing these ever since I started. Here are some simple steps I have been following to make sure that my physical activities do not turn into a thing of the past:

- Do not overdo anything. Set a routine of how many sessions or reps you will do during each gym visit and stick to it.

- Make each gym session short and brief. Those who stay endless hours at the gym are likely to give up after a few months. Each of my sessions at the gym usually last no more than 30 to 40 minutes.

- Pick two to three days per week to go to the gym. I only go to the gym twice per week.

- Occasionally, stop going to the gym as planned. This planned laziness will give your body a break and you will feel invigorated and encouraged to go back to the gym after a short break. I usually discontinue going to the gym when I am on vacation or some other times of the year. I do it 2 to 3 times every year.  

- The objective of going to the gym should be staying fit and living a healthy life – not to be a  muscle man and show off your abs (unless that’s your line of work).  

Going to the gym should be a part of your daily living and the benefits are endless. I can’t really tell you when I was last sick. Life is wonderful when you are healthy and fit. I am enjoying every moment of my life and I encourage you to continue going to the gym forever.

Words to Avoid for Better Communication and Self-Confidence

Words and Phrases You Should Avoid 

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Simplepersonaldevelopment.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to Ahmed Dawn Dot Com. This article originally published on the above website on Nov 5, 2011

What you say has a greater impact on how you interact with others and your self-esteem. There are some words that will make you more confident in your daily activities and conversations. Simply put, there are some words that will give your mind negative messages and will make your conversations difficult with others by creating a negative environment even before the actual conversation starts. 
Today, I will go through some of these words or phrases.

Avoid these Types of Words or Phrases 

Here are some words or phrases in bold you should avoid. I am putting these in sentences for better understating.

- I know what you are saying, but … 
- You have to do this 
- You can’t do that 
- I can’t do it 
- I will try to do it 
- I am sorry about that 
- Possibly this will work 
- I would like to … 
- Maybe I will do it 
- Perhaps, this is not going to happen 
- Do you have a minute? 
- Am I bothering you? 
- Am I interrupting anything? 
- Sorry to bother you 
- Sorry to interrupt 

Why You Should Avoid These Words/Phrases? 

When you use these words or phrases, you are projecting yourself as someone who is lacking confidence and weak – someone who is not sure about what he wants and what to do. Some of these words/phrases will create a negative impact and will irritate the person you are talking to the moment you use them. For example, if someone is in a good mood and feeling upbeat, the moment you utter “Am I bothering you?’ or “Sorry to interrupt…” it will make that person really bothered or interrupted although he would not have felt that way had you not mentioned it to him.

Replacement Words or Phrases Suggestions

Try these instead:

- Will you do it? 
- Are you willing to do this? 
- I am unable to do it 
- This is what I can do … 
- This is what I will do … 
- I apologise 
- What we will do … 
- Definitely … 
- Certainly … 
- This will just take a second 
- This will just take a moment 

If you need to talk to someone, instead of asking permission by saying “Can I ask you a quick question?” or, instead of saying “Am I interrupting you?” or “Sorry to bother you…” just ask the question firmly and politely. This will start the conversation with a positive tone and good mood, and you will have better chances of getting things done once you start with a positive tone, positive body language, and a positive approach.