1 Let me tell you a bit about myself. I’m 35 years old, male, single, never been married. I work as an editor at a publishing company. Some of you may think that I’m a loser: an unmarried adult with not much money. But I honestly don’t care about things like that any more. The reason is very simple: I’m perfectly happy just as I am.2 The reason? I got rid of most of my material possessions.3 Minimalism is a lifestyle in which you reduce your possessions to the least possible. Living with only the bare essentials has not only provided superficial benefits such as the pleasure of a tidy room or the simple ease of cleaning, but it has also led to a more fundamental shift. It has given me a chance to think about what it really means to be happy.4 So I said goodbye to a lot of things, many of which I’d had for years. And yet now I live each day with a happier spirit. I feel more content now than I ever did in the past.5 I wasn’t always a minimalist. I used to buy a lot of things, believing that all those possessions would increase my self-worth and lead to a happier life. At the same time, though, I was always comparing myself with other people who had more or better things, which often made me miserable. I couldn’t focus on anything, and I was always wasting time.6 On a usual day, there were books stacked everywhere in my apartment because there wasn’t enough room on my bookshelves. Most I had thumbed through once or twice, thinking that I would read them when I had time.7 The closet was crammed with what used to be my favorite clothes, most of which I’d only worn a few times. The room was filled with all the things I’d taken up as hobbies and then gotten tired of. There were some conversational English workbooks I’d planned to study once I had more free time.8 But by having fewer things around, I’ve started feeling happier each day. I’m slowly beginning to understand what happiness is.9 After what I’ve been through, I think saying goodbye to your things is more than an exercise in tidying up. I think it’s an exercise in learning about true happiness.10 Maybe that sounds grandiose. But I seriously think it’s true.