Glaser, B. G., & Stauss, A. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. Possessions before allowed me to be inauthentically something that was more socially acceptable, now my possessions are more an expression of who I consider to be my authentic self. (P8). 4.2 Competence I just deleted over 200 people off my Facebook friends list, and it feels great. I am calling this part 1 of my Facebook phase-out, because now that I have the ball rolling I am questioning who I really care to be friends with and whether I want to keep Facebook at all. Have you deleted Facebook, or have you ever culled your friends list? Please share! Schwartz, B. (2000). Self-determination: The tyranny of freedom. The American Psychologist, 55(1), 79–88. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066X.55.1.79.

Kaida, N., & Kaida, K. (2016). Pro-environmental behavior correlates with present and future subjective well-being. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 18(1), 111–127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-015-9629-y. Dopierała, R. (2017). Minimalism – A new mode of consumption? Przegląd Socjologiczny, 66(4), 67–83. https://doi.org/10.26485/PS/2017/66.4/4. I'm not sure why exactly I'm writing this, but I stumbled upon this subreddit and am noticing fascinating arguments from minimalist supporters, and many posts questioning "why do people hate minimalism?" with ludicrous replies such as "they fear what they do not understand" and I just thought I would, as someone who quite openly doesn't like minimalism, share my feelings toward it for deeper understanding, fun, and honestly cause I'm very interested in what the comments will be disputing what I have to say, hopefully I'll learn something too. My goal is not to fight I just wanna discuss...if thats possible, this is reddit lol. Participants reported a heightened awareness, and enhanced reflection, mindfulness, and savouring as a result of minimalism. There is substantial evidence suggesting these practices can greatly enhance wellbeing and the experience of positive emotions (Bryant and Veroff 2007; Ivtzan and Lomas 2016). Furthermore, mindfulness enhances the savouring experience (Garland et al. 2015). If one is able to savour the benefits they experience when they adopt minimalism, they may be more likely to experience the full range of wellbeing benefits of the lifestyle.

Brown, K. W., & Kasser, T. (2005). Are psychological and ecological well-being compatible? The role of values, mindfulness, and lifestyle. Social Indicators Research, 74(2), 349–368. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-004-8207-8. Thompson, S., Cheek, P., & Graham, M. (1988). The other side of perceived control: Disadvantages and negative effects. In S. Spacapan & S. Oskamp (Eds.), The social psychology of health (pp. 69–93). Newbury Park: Sage. Suárez-Varela, M., Guardiola, J., & González-Gómez, F. (2016). Do pro-environmental behaviors and awareness contribute to improve subjective well-being? Applied Research in Quality of Life, 11(2), 429–444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11482-014-9372-9.

Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43(2), 207–222. https://doi.org/10.2307/3090197. Many participants identified the idea of saving ‘mental energy’ as a benefit of minimalism that promotes wellbeing. Participants reported this was due to having fewer choices to make and not pre-occupying the mind with trivial matters.

All participants indicated that adopting a minimalistic lifestyle afforded a myriad of wellbeing benefits. The key themes and sub-themes (in parentheses) were identified as: Autonomy (freedom/liberation, aligning with values, authenticity); Competence (feeling in control of environment, less stress and anxiety); Mental Space (saving mental energy, internal reflecting external); Awareness (reflection, mindfulness, savouring); and Positive Emotions (joy, peacefulness). 4.1 Autonomy