The short answer to this question is “No”. But some people get the impression that minimalists are lazy. So, we should start by looking at why minimalists seem to be lazy. We will then look at what it means to be lazy. This will help to identify laziness. After that, we will look at the philosophy of minimalists. Once we do this, we can then see why minimalists are far from lazy. So, we should now look at these:
Why does it seem like minimalists are lazy?
Some people believe that minimalists are lazy. After all, minimalists seem to do less work and have more spare time. So, let’s look at how they do it.
Minimalists often have fewer things. In fact, they would rather have fewer things than spend the extra time maintaining them. They would rather own less than put in the extra work to organize them. Many people would see this as laziness. Also, having fewer things means that they can get away with having a smaller home. This means that they can spend even less time cleaning and organizing their homes. Also, a smaller home often costs less than a larger one.
They don’t need to work as much to pay for their homes. The result is that the average minimalist does less work than the average person. On top of that, they avoid commitments that don’t align with their purposes. This gives them even more free time. Some people see this as a lack of work ethic. They see an unwillingness to do the work necessary to get the fancy material things. But there is another perspective.
What does laziness mean?
To understand whether minimalists are lazy or not, we must first know what laziness is. So here is a good working definition of laziness:
A lack of motivation, which prevents you from doing what you believe is necessary.
There are 3 main points to this definition. The first is that the person must believe the action to be necessary. The second is that the person must fail to perform the action. The third is that lack of motivation must be the primary factor that prevents taking the action. So, let’s look at some examples that show these points:
Example 1
Someone decides to not climb Mount Everest because he thinks it’s unnecessary. This is not an example of laziness. The reason is that he does not find it to be necessary. If the person thinks it’s unnecessary, and the person doesn’t want to do it, then there is no good reason to do it.
Example 2
Someone believes that she needs to work out at the gym. The person doesn’t feel like working out but works out at the gym anyway. This is not an example of laziness either. In this case, lack of motivation did not stop the person from doing the task. In fact, doing what is necessary when you don’t feel like doing it shows discipline.
Example 3
Someone sees a venomous snake in his backyard. He believes that the snake should be removed. He decides not to do it because it is too dangerous. This is not laziness. It was not the lack of motivation that stopped the person from removing the snake. It was a safety concern. Getting bit by the venomous snake would defeat the purpose of removing it in the first place. Using good judgment is not laziness.
Example 4
Someone knows that he needs to do the laundry. He has everything necessary to do the laundry including time. But he decides not to do the laundry because he doesn’t feel motivated. Now, this is an example of laziness. In this case, he believed the action was necessary. He also chose to not do the action due to a lack of motivation.
So, now that we know what laziness is, let’s look at the philosophy of minimalists. This will let us know if it applies to them.
What is the philosophy of minimalists?
To know if minimalists are lazy or not, we must know their philosophy. And part of this is to know the definition of minimalism, which is the following:
Focusing on what you value by removing what you don’t.
There are many other ways to word this, but they add up to removing whatever is useless. It is because useless things waste your resources and give nothing in return. By getting rid of them, you free up the resources that they are wasting. These resources can include time, space, money, and effort. For example, if you get rid of something useless, its size equals the space you added back to your home. You also save the time and effort that you would waste maintaining it. But you are better off avoiding buying it in the first place.
The reason is that all useful material things are tools. And every tool should help with an experience. So, it is the experiences that are of primary importance. Even decorations are tools for adding beauty. Also, a tool is only as valuable as the use you get out of it. This implies that if you won’t use something, then it has no value. It also implies that a tool is a means to an end and not an end in itself. Also, if something does everything you need it to do, then you don’t need a more expensive version. Minimalists apply their philosophy to intangible things too. So if a commitment is a waste of time, then the minimalist has no use for it.
Less work doesn’t mean that minimalists are lazy.
Minimalists will not work harder to buy things they don’t need to use. Things that they don’t use have no value to them. And there is no point in working harder for nothing of value. It is unnecessary and counter-productive. It is better to save their money and time than to waste them on things that cause extra work and stress. This is not laziness. It is being smarter with their resources.
Minimalists realize that happiness and fulfillment come from experiences. Material things are only tools to help with these experiences. So working harder for the sake of buying more things (tools) makes no sense. It would be like stockpiling screwdrivers in the hopes of happiness and fulfillment. Minimalists wouldn’t do this because it is futile and it counters their philosophy. Staying true to their principles is not laziness.
In general, people who become minimalists start by decluttering. They are often motivated by the desire to have things like a tidy home, more free time, and a better quality of life. So they take decisive action that they believe is necessary to achieve them. Laziness is the lack of motivation that prevents doing what you believe is necessary. But minimalists have the motivation that makes them do what they believe is necessary. This is the polar opposite of laziness.
In summary, some people believe that minimalists are lazy. It is because minimalists often do less work than others. In fact, they will own fewer things to reduce their workload. But laziness is a lack of motivation that prevents doing what you believe is necessary. Also, minimalists do what they believe is necessary to live the lifestyle that they want. This is the opposite of laziness. So minimalists are far from lazy.