Recently, I connected with Fabian and Veronika, who run a minimalist magazine called The Elementarist. They asked to do an interview with me as part of a series highlighting how different people apply minimalism in their lives and work. Because I haven’t talked explicitly about minimalism in a post on Minimal Wellness yet, I thought it would be nice to cross-post the interview. I recommend checking out the beautifully formatted version of the interview on their site.
I also wanted to introduce you to these two fascinating and talented individuals. Here’s an introduction, in their own words: Hi, we are Veronika and Fabian. Two travelers that became minimalist along their journey. In the past decade, we have travelled and lived in more then 60 countries. At time in which we had the chance to discover different ways of living and learn what is truly important to us. As ever more people became interested in our minimalist approach of living, we decided to create: The Elementarist.
The Elementarist is a magazine on minimalist lifestyle that covers minimalist living, design and technology celebrating simplicity. Curated by a team of editors that live and apply minimalism differently, The Elementarist does not preach for deprivation nor give a blueprint. It understands minimalism as a mindset. A mindset that values time over money, appreciates simplicity and embraces futuristic ways of living and working. The Elementarist is about exhibiting the beauty and diversity of minimalism. And offering people inspiration and discovery.
Becca, nice to meet you!
Hi! I’m Becca, a 30-something year old nutrition, food, and health-nut, currently living in Missoula, Montana (USA). I have a precocious three year old daughter, Ella, and an amazing partner, Joshua. For the past decade, I’ve been working and studying as a Registered Dietitian, with a particular interest in public and environmental health. Although we currently live in Montana, I’ve been a bit of a nomad — living in Alaska, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Most of my family still lives in Minnesota, where I grew up on a small hobby-farm outside of Minneapolis.
What is your personal definition of minimalism? How did you discover it? And what motivated you to pursue this journey to this date?
For me, minimalism means living with the essentials to enable vibrant health and allow pursuit of my passions. It means that I continually evaluate the things, activities, and relationships in my life and curate them to allow me to be the most optimal version of myself — meaning that I am the best mom, partner, and member of society that I can be. What is essential to me, will not be what’s essential to someone else, but I think it’s helpful to consider minimalism as a mental and physical framework that helps us grow and evolve into better versions of ourselves.
I grew up in a household that upheld some minimalist principles (although we didn’t call it that), especially related to anti-consumerism. I feel fortunate to have been surrounded by family and friends that valued someone’s contribution to the world exponentially more than what kind of house they lived in, car they drove, or clothes they wore. But, I began jettisoning unneeded material things in earnest a couple of years ago after I realized my life was not headed in a positive direction.
At the time, I was a full-time working mom, a student trying to complete my master’s degree, and was in a mismatched marriage. My then spouse and I bought a house, in part because I thought home ownership — the missing component of the American Dream template I’d completely bought into — would cure my misery. Unsurprisingly, the house wasn’t the answer, and my marriage ended shortly thereafter. At the same time, I stumbled upon a TEDx talk by two guys living here in Montana, called The Minimalists. Since then, I’ve been paring down and honing in on what is essential in my life.
Your blog helps people pursuing a simple path to optimal health. However, this path also seems to lead through a minefield surrounded by junk food, nutrition supplements and tons of organic food marketing. People feel lost and often end up giving up. How do you turn this path into a simple and enjoyable journey?
We live in a world that profits from confusing health messages. Massive industries — food, healthcare, fitness, even alternative medicine — all have different and often opposing motivations, which unfortunately results in information that is frustratingly conflicted.
Health is not a commodity, but that’s often how it’s treated in modern society.
At Minimal Wellness, I prefer to concentrate on a few core principles. Maintaining health is relatively straightforward — eat nourishing whole foods, move your body, get sufficient sleep, and manage stress. Focusing on those four aspects will lead to a healthier life. Even if someone has a diagnosable health condition, managing those four aspects while treating the condition, will dramatically improve their state. I think clarifying those four components and helping people to focus on them (and ignore the noise) simplifies the journey toward optimal health.
The enjoyment aspect is far more personal. I have always been a firm believer that we are in control of our outlook and although we all have our own unique journey, viewing health as something beautiful to be cultivated, cherished, and enjoyed, seems to help me. I try to share that outlook with others.
So, is minimalism the golden path to a healthy life?
I don’t believe in a golden path, but applying minimalism to our lifestyles can help us achieve a healthy life in a simpler and more enjoyable way. Filtering out the thousands of conflicting health messages will help clarify the path and focusing on a simple framework makes a healthy life more tangible, accessible, and achievable. Understanding that health is something precious that we should appreciate and nurture everyday can ignite our motivation and enable appropriate changes.
The start is often the hardest part. Are there some recommendations you would give to people trying to tackle that path into a simple yet healthy lifestyle?
Indeed, the first steps on any journey are challenging. I wrote a post recently called Fear and Resistance that talks about why we often struggle with new things. Understanding that we can’t expect a 180 degree change overnight is helpful — we’re unlikely to be successful with that drastic diet plan, or very intense exercise routine if it’s significantly different than our current routine. And that nearly inevitable failure after an attempted 180 degree change is very discouraging and disempowering.
If we think of change in terms of committing to small and realistic pivots from our current habits, instead of enormous course corrections, with time and effort, we can end up in radically different places and be living a beautifully healthy life.
Where can we see more of your work and what can we expect from you in near future?
Right now minimalwellness.com (and social media @minimalwellness) is the best place to find my work. This year, I’m focusing on becoming a better communicator and cook. To date, I’ve focused on writing blog posts and recipes, but in the near future, I plan to produce meal plans (utilizing the recipes I’ve posted) and also videos.
After that, it’s anyone’s guess!