Beware of the ‘keeping up With Jones’ Minimalism Trap
Minimalism has a moment . It’s all about a helpful message about conscious consumption and conscious living, which is great. However, as minimalist Anthony Ongaro points out, many people make a common mistake with minimalism: they turn it into a lifestyle trend that they must keep up with.
People have different ideas about what minimalism should be , and of course there is nothing wrong with simply evaluating it from an aesthetic or design point of view. The problem is that many people gravitate towards the “less is more” lifestyle just to make it another thing they consume. Ironically, they fall into the same ‘Keeping Up With The Jones’ trap of trying to consume minimalism. In the video above, Ongaro puts it this way (emphasis added):
A common mistake I see is people taking minimalism and using it to create yet another impossible standard of living. Don’t let minimalism become just another one of those things that you think you need to constantly work on, or something like an image of a perfectly white wall and a white bedspread, just filled with natural light. It doesn’t have to look like this … You don’t need to buy a new, more minimalistic bedspread. You don’t have to buy a more minimalist table … you don’t have to do this to embrace the freedom that the choice to consume less and own less can give you.
You can buy it all, but the philosophy of minimalism is not really about buying more things in order to maintain a stylish and trendy lifestyle. Oddly enough, the opposite is true. If you’ve turned to minimalism because of its idea of ​​conscious consumption, this is something to watch out for. Ongaro has a lot more insight into this topic, so be sure to watch his full video above or at the link below.
Avoid One Minimalist Mistake | Break the Twitch (YouTube)