I DON'T ENJOY LABELS

I actually don’t like to describe myself as a minimalist. Or, let me rephrase that - I don’t like labels. In general I really don’t. I find myself feeling restricted and self conscious - afraid to not be the right thing or doing things correctly. But more so it has to do with the feedback I receive when interacting with others. It seems like oftentimes labels put people in this state of mind and they think “oh I see, I completely understand you know”. Which often also follows with the thoughts similar of “I know your views and you are this type of person which also means you like this thing, or behave this way or have this mindset”. I have found that it doesn’t matter which label I’m using, I receive similar judgement from different people in various situations when I have used labels to describe me, such as: minimalist, young, vegetarian, environmentalist, vagabonder, artist, activist, creator, millennial. The result is the same - a sense of simplifying judgement of another human without really any effort made.

The thing with this is these labels only describe some of the actions one take. And judging anyone solely on the actions will not provide enough information to “figure out” what their motivation, their intention, and what their why is. And it is in the intention where all the juicy parts are found. Where people’s dreams, desires, thought processes and personality all shines through. And exploring this also gives us an opportunity to connect and understand each other more than what we can grasp by simply looking and judging actions. We create more deep and authentic connection by listening to others telling their story.

I also simultaneously believe labels can be very helpful. It’s easier going to a restaurant and ask “do you have anything vegetarian on the menu?” rather than explaining for 20 minutes in why broccoli and tofu enhances your life. That totally makes sense. The intentions to interact with the waitress is to communicate which food you’d like to eat and not tell your life story. We go to the restaurant to eat their food the first place.

Labels can also be great when searching for more information about a certain topic. Without the simplifying information that the labels can provide information would be too vague and difficult to navigate - especially with the abundance of information accessible in this digital age. We need something to be to sort out what is relevant and what is not.

I in the end I chose to call this blog minimalist millennials. These labels resonate with me. My life is shaped my the tools of minimalism, they allow me to guide myself into living a more slow life. I move through this world as a millennial - one of those people who grew up with the technology, where everything became instantly accessible. And that shapes my mindset. Ain’t interesting combination, mindset of millennial and intention of a minimalist?