20 Thought Provoking Lessons from Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism by Fumio Sasaki

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I always believed that if you finished a book, and find yourself rummaging through the ideas or content presented in it over and over again; then it must be a well-worth read. Goodbye, Things did the exact thing to me. I couldn’t help it and had to binge read it.

You may be wondering by now what exactly is Goodbye, Things. Well to simply put it, it’s a best-selling book about minimalism and how we can live with less stuff. The author Fumio Sasaki does a wonderful job exploring what minimalism is and how it benefited him.

What I find truly interesting in Goodbye, Things is that the author does give his opinion about minimalism; and also leaves much for the reader to interpret.

Minimalism or living with less or simple living is not just about throwing stuff away, or not buying stuff. It makes us question what is essential and really required in our lives. Remember, there is no perfect definition of minimalism.

Well here are some of the thought provoking lessons:

During the course of our lives we wish to attain stuff, but our desire to attain stuff grows more and more with the passage of time. There is nothing wrong with having stuff, but how much stuff do we really need is the question that needs to be answered. We find ourselves spending more and more time managing, organizing and cleaning our stuff. The stuff was supposed to help us in the first place, but in the end we are ruled by it and nothing more.
Unhappiness in life does not necessarily come from traumas, or unfulfilling careers. It can be due to the amount of things that burden us not only by taking physical space in our house; but also mental space.
The hype of having or buying a new things eventually comes down. You eventually get tired of hoarding and decide against it in the long run.
Don’t buy high quality things to convey your worth as a person to others. You are defined by your character, not your things. Don’t let your things define who you are.
There is always a very clear line between the things you need and the things you want.
My favorite part of the book: “Our things are like roommates, except we pay their rent”.
Cherish memories that you create with other human beings rather than things.
Renting stuff is a great option these days. No need to buy it if you won’t have any use afterwards.
Try to see things as temporary possession; this allows us to be humble and appreciate it better without thinking of what we don’t have.
What makes us unique as human beings, is not how much material gain or glory we have achieved in life, but rather our experiences that shapes our characteristics.
It is truly shameful to waste our life behind material objects. After all, life is really short.
It is not quality objects, but quality time that really leads to happiness.
Be grateful for what you have and you will find more happiness in life.
Living with minimalism does not make us better than someone or inferior. It’s a life choice and it shouldn’t be used to judge others who choose to live differently.
As with everything in life, minimalism is not perfect or not the sole definition of happiness.
It may be hard to live as a minimalist, but not impossible.
Things can be used in a number of ways, if we think outside the box.
It is perfectly okay to keep things that have value for you. Minimalism is not a competition where everything has to be thrown out.
Happiness is all around us, but we need to put effort to find it.
Memories that can be easily recalled without the aid of material objects are truly precious.