Mininimalism: The Reality of Living Out of a Backpack

Again this week we are lucky to have a fantastic guest writer. Jeremy from Think Travel Lift Grow writes about what it is like to live life travelling with only what he carries in his backpack. If you missed last weeks post then you can check it out here: minimalism-10-benefits-of-being-a-minimalist.html


​For nearly a year I’ve had everything I own fit in a single bag! For many people, that’s just unimaginable but after a year of living this way that seems normal! But just as with everything in life, they are some amazing benefits to this lifestyle but also a few cons.

When I was young I realized that everyone around me was living a life which was the continuous cycle of working in a job they didn’t like, to buy things they didn’t need to impress people they didn’t like!

I don’t know much but I do know this; every person on earth has a gift and life is not meant to simply work, wait for the weekend and pay rent! I wanted a life where I loved what I do and where I don’t need a vacation!

Booking.com

When I was 18 years old, I dropped out of college, gave away almost everything I own, fit all my remaining belongings in a single bag and begin traveling. I didn’t come from money and I had barely 200$ to my name when I left Goa, India. I learned to build websites off Youtube and Google and began building websites for cafes and hotel while in the background I grew a travel blog until it started to make enough to cover my expenses. Now I'm starting my own digital marketing agency, doing what I love.

I started out with a 50 Litre backpack that weighed around 15 kilos but as I traveled the bag got lighter and lighter. Right now my bag is 30 litres and weighs barely 5kgs(www.thinktravelliftgrow.com/thoughts/everything-i-own-is-less-than-5-kgs) after I gave away my winter gear!

I live my life by the rule, “If I don’t use something for 2 weeks, I give it away”, which played a huge role is bringing my bag to the size it is now! I doubt when I’m old and dying I’ll think back to all the stuff I had, no, I’ll probably smile at all the experiences I lived through. From climbing one of the top 3 highest mountain passes in the world with everything I own on my back(https://www.thinktravelliftgrow.com/travel/worlds-highest-mountain-pass-with-everything-i-own/) to meeting the Dalai Lama, I believe life is an adventure and should be led like one!
​
That being said, I'm not preaching as I don't believe this lifestyle is for everyone! Definitely not, minimalism is different for each and every person, it's a personal and unique journey for every individual. The “If I don’t use something for 2 weeks, I give it away” rule can't be applied to the lives of most people nor do I expect everyone to live that way!

Minimalism is an amazing idea which can be applied differently to each person's lifestyle. I usually move around a lot so I live in hotels, guesthouses, hostels or wild camp, when I do live in a single place for a while I rent out an apartment or Air Bnbs which come fully furnished and kitchen fully equipped with everything I need.

I feel like many of today’s societal problems stem from the meaning we assign to our stuff: we tend to give too much meaning to our things, often forsaking our health, our relationships, our passions, our personal growth, and our desire to contribute beyond ourselves.

When I decided that I want to travel the world, the first thing I minimized was excuses. We live in a society full of excuses, everyone has one reason or another as to why they can’t do something. People want to spend hours binge-watching The Bachelor and then blame the government because they can’t get a job.

Stress in our daily lives is another huge problem. Minimizing the negativity especially the negative people surrounding me played a huge role in making me the person I am today! It’s really easy to meet negative people these days, especially people who have internalized their excuses into part of their being.  I cut off most of the people I knew and instead I surrounded myself with positivity and meaningful ideas, instead of complaints and excuses.

I wanted my life to be filled with more incredible things like climbing mountains and less about buying things I didn’t need, to impress people I didn’t even know.

90% of what most people have are things they don’t really need. You don’t need the latest iPhone you want it. I’m not saying don’t buy anything. Hell, I spend a lot of money shopping but only for things I need, but I buy things that bring value into my life. Assets, not liabilities.
Eg. I run part of my businesses on my phone so that makes my phone an asset. Most people my age are just swiping right on Tinder making their phones a liability (or asset  if that's your priority! haha)

I believe in the idea that each person is an accumulation of their genetics and experiences, from Mark Zuckerberg to the guy you passed on a street! Everyone is the person they're today before of their life experiences and genetics. One of those two things are out of your control, you can’t control your genetics, you have to live with the cards you are dealt!

You can either complain about why life is a certain way or take control of the thing you can control. Your experiences, You can control how you react to each situation and obstacle that comes your way, You can control your future experiences by investing in your future.

So whether it’s spending an hour having a deep conversation and actually listening to your rebellious teen or spending your weekends learning that instrument that you always wanted to play, each experience makes you the person you become, so pick wisely. You have one life, do you want to spend it collecting things you don't need or do you want to live a life full of experiences? 
​

You can follow Jeremy's journey on his travel blog at Think Travel Lift Grow (www.thinktravelliftgrow.com) and on Instagram(www.instagram.com/thinktravelliftgrow) 
 
Again I am thankful for Jeremy for submitting his story to me to post, hope you will take the time to visit his site and follow him on Instagram. If you didn't get the chance to check out our last two guest writers you should check them out now, Amber's touching story  our-journey-to-less.html
 and minimalism-the-spouses-point-of-view.html  Our next guest writer will be brian from the blog site Minimizing Dad.

Thanks,

​Mark
​