Minimalism with Essentialism

Tried being a minimalist ever? 

Nope, that's fine.
Yup, probably sure you enjoyed it or failed it badly.

Minimalism is the pursuit of using less, possessing less, but at the same time also not giving up on the essentials. 

Let me start out with an example. 

Couple months back I was talking to my English professor about minimalism and she said that she tried being a minimalist once but screwed up in the end. She only kept a single pair of shoes and dumped away all the other ones. As it happens she also threw away her winter shoes which are very much essential in a country like Canada. 
Hence, with being a minimalist you also have to be intellectual about your needs too. 
Thus being an Essentialist. 
This means not to have dozen pairs of different shoes but instead just the ones needed and not compromising on those needed.

Recently I was listening to a podcast where the guest speaker was Jack Conte, CEO of Patreon. He was talking with the host Matt D'Avella about not being a minimalist but instead he used the term called "Functionalist". He specifies himself under this category where he keeps everything in his life to function something. For instance he has kept some shirts back from high school to feel nostalgic. What we can learn from this that being minimalist is not everything, you can have more stuff around you but each and everything should provide a purpose or at least some sort of sense else it would just be stuff you are holding onto.

Minimalism with the broader context of essentialism can also help manage everyday life, rather it be personal or professional. Ever wondered why you are always at work up till late in the night or maybe working late at home? Ever felt like you are always busy with something? Did you feel like you are compromising with your sleep? Found yourself studying until late night before the test? Have you ever taken out some time of your daily routine and focused on your health?
If you felt any of the above being your situation you probably need essentialist approach towards life.

I had read some parts of a book called Essentialism by Greg McKeown, in this book the author explains the benefits of saying "NO" to the things which you don't think are important. 

Let's say that you have to meet a friend for dinner but you are bailing out on your friend because you just want some extra money by working more. You could simply say no to that and enjoy the time with your friend which is what essential. 
This doesn't mean you skip work during office hours and go hang out with friends. 
The author gives an example where he ignored his sick wife just to attend a meeting. 

People need to start realizing what is essential for the sake of a healthy living environment and not comprising on prominent things. You need to start prioritize what is essential. Sometimes essential things are things you wouldn't like to do at all, for example studying in my case, but when you feel like this is what is important for me in this very moment then you will definitely go onto a better lifestyle.

There is a concept called "Sorting out the noise" which is an essentialist approach. This means excluding the non-essential things from your life. 

Is using social media an essential thing? 
NOPE, I don't think it is (except you are using it to make a living). Really, just cut the Bullshit, social media is literally waste of precious time.

When you listen to a singer's album on your phone and when you listen them live, there's a lot of difference. The live concert brings the mistakes of the singer, cracked voice of the singer and the bad notes too(unless it's a Coldplay concert, coz Chris' voice is really good).The songs singers release on cassettes and cds are digitally auto-tuned, thus "Sorting out the noise", removing the non-essential things from the audio and make it sound better. So think of it as that when you auto-tune your life by sorting out the non-essential things, your life will be as good as an amazing song.

I haven't got much to say but one last thing that, minimalism does't mean go live in a small house, drive a very tiny car and compromise on everything. But instead just use the things that are essential. Don't hype too much in life, just get the essentials and save that extra bucks. You will really feel good from inside when you live a simple, stress free life.

Keep it simple folks!

Have a good one,
Dhruval