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Nonconformity Is Key

By Frugaling 29 Comments

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Hard at work, trying to be different.

I regularly workout in flip flops. On the weekends I tend to wear the same shorts and/or T-shirts for two or more days. I’ve had the same breakfast for nearly five years (some type of eggs and toast). I started cutting my hair in sophomore year of college — can’t remember if I’ve paid for a haircut since then. I hate dressing up for work. I don’t have a car, and regularly bike to first dates (Where’s your car parked? Oh, the bike racks over there!). I fantasize about stealing condiments of ketchup and mustard at a local fast-food restaurant. I’d rather enjoy a good book or the company of friends over crowds in a club. I tend to leave the AC off or, at least, at sweaty levels if I’m alone. Vice versa, I tend to freeze in the winter because my room is draftier than the rest of the apartment and I keep the heat low. I’ve been known to pick up grocery items and carry them throughout the store, and then dispense of unnecessary purchases on random shelves (I’m sorry store clerks).

When I was younger, each of these pieces brought me great insecurity. I purchased Under Armour clothing and paid careful attention to be appropriately attired to workout. I was terribly concerned with how I’d be perceived. I used to drive my car to dates, and pay for parking, gas, and all the depreciation in the process. It seemed customary to have and drive a car — the movies always featured the man picking up his date. Many of these examples started out as deep vulnerabilities, which spawned into consumption.

Then frugality hit me. With all of its messages and philosophical underpinnings, I felt this pull to save wherever I could. It worked. I started to save money and act more consciously about my spending. But like many moments in my life, I was insecure to broadly announce that I was frugal. I wondered how people would react.

Reactions varied across genders, ages, and populations. Some loved and admired that I was so “young” and looking to right my financial path. Others were defensive that I was looking to save, as if it said something about their own spending. They’d question just how frugal I was being, and whether I would continue. Doubt was pervasive at times — for me and the person listening. Could I continue frugality in the face of cultural assumptions of consumption?

I gained confidence in this new life by regularly reading websites such as Becoming Minimalist, Budgets are Sexy, and Zen Habits. Each website presented a minimal, simple life. The authors had removed themselves from many of our culture’s trappings. They wanted and professed the mantra of less.

While individuals’ reactions varied, there was consistency in my reading and writing. I found solace in their words and my writing. I could reflect on what this meant to me longer term. The broader picture I kept coming back to was a sense of modesty and necessity. I needed to live on less because I was born privileged, and many weren’t. Additionally, I was motivated to cut back to trim my student loans. These ideas provided a motivation beyond simply wanting to see more money in my bank account. I had no interest in amassing wealth.

Somewhere around then that confidence led to a loss of the previous insecurities. I embraced the weird. In the past, I may have held back with friends and dates. But I turned a new leaf and led with my new life. I’ve made do with less, which is transferable across domains of personal and professional work. There’s a grit that develops from going without.

Yes, I’m sweating profusely as I type these words. Yes, I risk dropping a free weight on my flip flops. Yes, I did bike to our date, and no there aren’t any pegs.

I’ve changed. At times, I’m countercultural, but at the heart is nonconformity. I’m sick of living within the carefully crafted bounds that others expect. Nonconformity has opened doors for me. My creativity has flourished in this time. By accepting a simple path, I’ve written and read more than ever for pure fun and enjoyment. It’s the greatest reward of this new life.

Filed Under: Minimalism, Social Justice Tagged With: countercultural, counterculture, Frugal, frugality, Insecurity, Nonconformity, Simple Living, Unique, Vulnerability, Weird

Was Albert Einstein A Minimalist?

By Frugaling 10 Comments

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Albert Einstein Laughing

Let me preface this essay by saying I’m not a “genius,” “theoretical physicist,” or “great thinker,” but I decided to pick up Einstein’s biography to learn about someone who’s been called all three. In 2008, the famed biographer and writer, Walter Isaacson, published Einstein’s story in a whole new light. His book catalogues the many triumphs, tribulations, and everyday struggles of the man who has become so revered.

As I read this 704-page tome, the very essence of Einstein came alive. Isaacson is a skilled writer, but he was homing in on something unique about his main character. Einstein extolled and lived for a simple life.

Albert Einstein is remembered for his brilliant discoveries in the field of physics. Without going too far into the weeds, he theorized about relativity and gravity. He felt they overlapped and coalesced. For instance, that light would bend in travel because of the sun’s gravitational pull. At the time, these were maddeningly complex ideas with little experimental support. Despite the novelty and unknowns, he stuck his neck out — time and time again. He didn’t bend or sway to convention, and it ultimately made him famous around the world.

Throughout the book, Einstein is heralded for derision of power, authority, and status quo. Even greater, he seemed to attack the fundamental strictures and culture of materialism. It’s clear that his simple living values made him a better, more unique thinker. Without a doubt, Einstein was an early pioneer for minimalism in the face of excess. And here are 5 reasons how he was a minimalist:

1. He idealized simple lifestyles

Einstein was fascinated with bohemian living. Even in early letters to his first wife, he professed that they shouldn’t ever be trapped by society’s expectations. He seemed to love the idea of eschewing what so many wanted. Einstein loved bohemianism, as he found creativity and passion in literature, music, and science. He commingled the three and crafted magical mental imagery of difficult physical constructions. Self-described bohemians were countercultural, just like the beatniks, hippies, and hipsters of generations to come.

2. He disliked bourgeois pursuits

He consciously avoided upper class trappings. This is captured perfectly by a quote in the book. When traveling to another city, he stayed on an office couch instead of a hotel. His friend said, “This was probably not good enough for such a famous man, but it suited his liking for simple living habits and situations that contravened social conventions.” Fame didn’t mean he would suddenly change his way of living. The rebel inside him allowed for success.

3. He gave away much of his wealth

He feared that fame and wealth might affect and degrade people’s ability to live creatively. Einstein gave generously and even dedicated all the Nobel Prize winnings to his first wife. He didn’t crave wealth, nor did he live by its swings. Einstein enjoyed good coffee, cigars, and conversation. Money allowed for those staples, but otherwise was relatively unnecessary. The power of wealth could’ve purchased many conveniences and statuses, and yet he downplayed its ability. Take this passage from the book: “From Prague, Einstein took the train to Vienna, where three thousand scientists and excited onlookers were waiting to hear him speak. At the station, his host waited for him to disembark from the first-class car but didn’t find him. He looked on to second-class car down the platform, and could not find him there either. Finally, strolling from the third-class car at the far end of the platform was Einstein, carrying his violin case like an itinerant musician.”

4. He ignored conventions

Much like the Mark Zuckerbergs of today, Einstein didn’t follow social norms for dress. Comfort was the more important factor. His hair grew unruly in later life. It was iconic for him, as he was this renowned genius, but I believe that this was a subtle rejection of cultural mores. Einstein wanted to show he was unique in both thought and modest dress.

5. He took time for independent thought

Above all, Einstein’s genius was in his ability to isolate and focus. For days and weeks at a time, he could hole up in his study and work. He didn’t eat regularly, nor did he pay attention to much around him, but in that solitude, he solved some of the greatest questions of all mankind. His habits often made him cold and cantankerous, but it also cultivated a lifelong independence. Simple time alone was vital to discovery.

I’m nearly finished with the book, but these discoveries were too hard to hold back. I figured I’d share them with you as soon as I could. Within these passages, quotes, and stories, I see a man that feared the trappings of privilege. He was a social advocate, scholar, and seeker.

In a way, I wonder if I share something with Einstein: a fear of ever having more than enough. I fear what money can do, and how some people embrace elite statuses at the cost of others. If Einstein were alive today, I’d ask whether he feared he might lose his creativity if he lived more lavishly. My guess is that he would say “yes.”

Oh, one more thing, read his biography: Einstein: His Life and Universe.

Filed Under: Minimalism Tagged With: Albert Einstein, counterculture, Frugal, Income, Life, minimal, Minimalism, money, Physics, Simple Living, Universe, Wealth

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