It could be the birth of a child.

It could be an unfortunate downsizing at work.

Any number of different things, really.

♪

My trigger event happened on a Saturday morning when I was cleaning out my garage.

My son was five years old at the time and we went out to do some spring cleaning.

We were pulling everything out of the garage into the driveway.

My son lasted for about five minutes, is about it, and he was off in the backyard to play by himself.

I'm working on the same garage, one thing leads to another.

Hours later, I'm still working on the same garage.

My neighbor happens to be outside, and she was the first one to ever introduce me to the word "minimalism".

As I began complaining to her about how much time and effort had gone into this cleaning project...

She said to me, "Yeah, you know, that's why my daughter is a minimalist."

She keeps telling me I don't need to own all this stuff.

I remember looking over at my driveway, with this pile of dirty, dusty things that I don't care anything about.

I knew full well weren't making me happy.

But out of the corner of my eye, I noticed my five-year-old son, still swinging alone on the swing set in the backyard.

And suddenly had this further realization that not only were my possessions not making me happy.

They were actually keeping me from the very thing that did bring me happiness in life.

And not just happiness, but purpose, fulfillment, contentment, joy.

This is a very different realization that our possessions aren't not just making us happy...

But our possessions are actually keeping us from the very things that do.

This really is the foundational truth of a lifestyle of minimalism that our possessions are distracting us from the things we value most.

And that our lives are simply too important to waste chasing and accumulating material possessions.