The Benefits of Living a Minimalist Lifestyle
LIFESTYLE is a term that has been in use for many decades. Lifestyle is the general attitudes, behaviors, interests, and overall behavioral orientations of a person, community, or society. The word was first introduced by Austrian psychiatrist Alfred Adler in his famous essay, The Case of Miss R. which remains the standard reference work on the study of human behavior. In his later writings, he extended this to include characteristics of individual personality and their individual environment. Thus, LIFESTYLE covers a broad spectrum of approaches to the study of human behavior from all disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, and psychology.
One aspect of LIFESTYLE is to define what a healthy lifestyle means and how it differs from an unhealthy lifestyle. According to many researchers, a healthy lifestyle is one in which the individual contributes to their own personal well-being and health through physical activity or exercise. The extent to which an individual likes to participate in activities is also an important aspect of healthy lifestyle choices. This aspect is often referred to as the self-footprint test, since the extent to which an individual likes to be active contributes to the amount of physical activity they engage in.
The concept of a green lifestyle goes beyond the self-footprint test; green lifestyles refer to those practices and behaviors that are environmentally friendly or which support sustainability. A green lifestyle may involve being vegetarian, practicing low energy levels, recycling, using energy-efficient appliances, minimizing personal consumption of nonrenewable resources, recycling goods produced by environmentally friendly businesses, and so forth. For example, being a vegetarian requires adopting a number of dietary practices, such as eating organic foods (i.e., choosing foods grown without pesticides or herbicides), consuming food that is certified as “green” (i.e., using foods and drinks that are created with renewable resources), and so on. Similarly, recycling is a practice that entails reusing items or returning them to the places where they were manufactured.
When it comes to the types of lifestyle choices that support sustainable living, there are two major camps of options: vegan lifestyles and minimalistic lifestyles. Vegans, as most people know, are individuals who exclude animal products from their diet; they use foods that are considered “vegan” as ingredients (e.g., fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes, etc. ), do not use milk products, and do not consume meat, fish, poultry, etc. Veganism is a natural way of living that advocates responsibility for one’s own health and the health of others.
The second group of choices associated with a healthy lifestyle is minimalistic lifestyles. Minimalists live by some description of a “greener” lifestyle, which involves living in an environment that leaves more space to facilitate movement and promote interaction. Many of today’s environmental trends, including high levels of car exhaust, harmful pesticides, and improper disposal of garbage, negatively impact a minimalistic lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle is one that promotes an active lifestyle, including physical activity, getting enough sleep, consuming nutrients, minimizing stress, eating a healthy diet, etc. In fact, minimalism is at the core of many sustainability practices and philosophies.
Whether you’re interested in vegetarianism, veganism, or some other kind of sustainable lifestyle, it’s important to think about what you want to get out of your lifestyle choices, such as how you choose to live, what kind of relationships you’ll have and so on. Once you’ve decided on your goals and your plans for the future, it’s best to start designing your lifestyle to achieve those goals, rather than simply dreaming about them. Fortunately, there are plenty of books and online resources that can help you determine the best ways to live a healthy life and reach your goals. These tools are a great starting point for your search for a healthier lifestyle and a more active lifestyle. LIFESTYLE will also prove useful for those who are not interested in a specific path and simply want to live a healthy and meaningful life.