Before you gag and scream “Oh no, not another New Age approach to life, just hear me out. What I am about to share with you is in no way New Age; in fact, Essentialism has been spoken about in the Halls of Academia since Aristotle was a doddering old fool.
Besides, I think you might find some value in it, so do me a favor and hang with me for ten minutes.
Back in Aristotle’s day, Essentialism referred to the belief that all things, living and non-living, have an essence, and I will stop in this definition because it gets a bit gooey from there forward. Moving forward in history a bit, Essentialism resurfaced as a philosophy regarding education, namely that only essential subjects, ones taught universally, like math, science, and language, should be taught in schools.
Which brings us to today and the New Age . . . oops, to the meaning of Essentialism as told by the modern Father of Essentialism, Greg McKeown, that we humans need to determine what is essential to our happiness, eliminate those things which do not contribute to our happiness, and spend the majority of our time living a life true to the essentials of our happiness.
Let me put it another way.
We can all assume that the basic essentials of life are water, food, air, and shelter, correct? Other than those basics, though, what do you need . . . you personally . . . to be happy, and to thrive as your best self? This is not a trick question, and the answer likely will be different for just about anyone who answers it. Some might say family. Some might say self-respect. Some might say a meaningful job, while a very few might say wealth. Be that as it may, go ahead, while we are tinkering with this topic, I want you to stop right now and think about what your answer will be to that question.
Now, step two in the process. I want you to make a list of your activities today, hour by hour. Be as specific as possible with your list i.e. 8:00 a.m. did housework until 9:15; then 9:15 to 10:05, watched The View on television . . . and so on until your bedtime.
Step #3, how much of that day which you just listed was actually spent on the “essentials” of your life, those things you just listed as being important to your happiness?
I think you are going to arrive at a very important conclusion, namely that most of us, probably the vast majority of us, do not spend much time on those things which truly make us happy. Which leads to this question, the heart and soul of Essentialism: what are you going to do about it?
The action step in Essentialism is eliminating those things which distract you from leading a happy, and meaningful life, those things which prevent you from becoming your True Self. Are certain people holding you back? Goodbye to them! Are certain recurring events holding you back? Adios to them!
I do not believe we climbed out of the primordial ooze simply to be miserable and unhappy and unfulfilled, and if we are miserable, unhappy, and unfulfilled, most of us need to take responsibility for that and attempt to change it.
Otherwise, and I’m being serious now, what in the hell is the point of all this?
I’ve said this before but it probably should be repeated: whoever thought it was a good idea for us to work forty, fifty years, eight hours per day, and then retire at an age at which we can’t do everything we wanted to do during retirement, only to die ten, fifteen years later, well, that guy should be drawn and quartered, to borrow from the Middle Ages. It is a ridiculous concept, a concept which is well past its shelf life, and a concept which is not working terribly well for 90% of the working class.
So, I repeat: what is essential for your happiness, your fulfillment, your peace of mind? How much time do you spend, on a normal day, doing those things which truly make you happy?
Just something to think about.
Sis, you rock! Your resilience and your strength are inspiring, and I really mean that. We may never meet in person, but I do love you.
bill
Bro….your words of wisdom, as well as reading those of Sue & Ann, are the music to my soul today. I agree with all 3 of you! Although my retirement came due to not-so-pleasant events…..(my only sibling’s terminal illness & passing, followed by my elderly Mom’s demise only 3 months later) I became their end-of-life care-taker. Once that was over…..I would not have…..COULD not have gone back to work…..no way, no how, under any circumstances.
After coming thru the fog…..I put every ounce of my strength and moment of my time into
L I V I N G……the way I chose, in every way I chose, at any minute of each and every day…….and stayed on track thereafter!…….No 2nd thoughts, no more regrets….and that’s all there is to it!…..Love & Hugs, Big Sis.
Sue, those are some beautiful thoughts and bravo to you, my friend. We both retired early. I actually had no real trauma leading to my decision to stop. I just decided that fifty years of working was enough for one person, and I had a life to fully live. That was thirteen years ago and I have no regretted one moment of it. No offer of money would be enough to change my mind about returning to work. I love the freedom I now have, and thankfully my health is good and allows me to do much of what I always dreamed about.
Bravo to both of us, my friend.
Love and blessings,
bill
Ann, I love your list of essentials. I say something in one of my videos about the change over time with terms like this. I don’t think, truly, there is a new movement or approach to life. People just keep coming up with new taglines to describe the same old thing. Self-help books, written about these same concepts, were written back in the 60s and 70s, using different terms. And they are as true today as they were back then.
Blessings always
bill
That is a very good question, Bill!
I find that more and more I concentrate on those around me, especially my grandchildren, and on the nature around me. Both are very important to me, as is the state of the world.
So, I probably spend a reasonable time in my garden, we feed our ‘resident’ blackbird who trusts us, which is truly magical and a huge privilege. He appears on the fence or by the window, apparently saying, ‘ok, so where are my daily currants?’ And as long as we are here, he will get them and he will happily be only a few feet away from us as he chooses about 3-6 each time, from the garden table. That is the best thing, followed closely by watching the Blue Tits choose one of our bird boxes. Amazing! The blackbird will bring his new brood down to the garden in late Spring and that is something else!
Nature and basic family are the truly wondrous things in my life and I give them pride of place any day of the week. Then come my friends, with whom I share much of that anyway.
I knew nothing about Essentialism and it’s fascinating how the definition has changed throughout the years. For me, the essentials are the basics; family, nature and love.
Wonderful article, Bill!
Take care and keep well!
Ann
Smiling here Bill, as I read about the retirement age.
Here in the UK they are talking about putting it up to 70yrs of age, wanting ever ounce out of you!..
When I began my working life, retirement was for women here, aged 60 and men 65.
They changed the rules, especially on the women’s retirement age and those of us who were born in the 50’s who were just getting ready to retire aged 60 and draw a pension, were told Sorry.. No can do… work till you are 65, then a couple of years later it changed to 66… And I actually finally got my state pension aged 66 and 7 months as they strung it out even more..
However did that stop me retiring aged 60?… No!… I left my working life 3 months after reaching 60.. I was supporting the mentally ill, at the time, and was subject to some violent abuse, and lone working, was no joke, so the universe helped me make up my mind, as I didn’t want another 5 or 6 years of that, so I managed on the little personal pension plan I had budgeted for and hubby’s.. 🙂
We far too often Bill, conform to the system, thinking we have to do this or that, to survive, and put off doing what we should all be doing all through out life..
And that is enjoying Life every day, doing the things that bring JOY everyday.. However most are caught up in the wheel of being in debt… Thankfully we never lived that way, we loved Life, and we also had some wonderful vacations along the way, travelling abroad..
My point also being, that life is too short… I have enjoyed 10 years of retirement doing what I love.. And if any of you young folk out there happen to read this, then don’t put off what you can do today for tomorrow…
Live life in the Now.
For the only true moment of living, is in the now, not putting things off till you retire or the tomorrow that never comes..
Sending some thoughts your way Bill.. And we are looking forward to Spring and planting our garden again..
Hugs to you both.
Sue xx 💖