Minimalism: An alternative narrative about enough | Marlous van der Veen | TEDxFryslân

Marlous van der Veen is experimenting with a lifestyle of less, in a world of more. It is her goal to be a challenger, to stretch current frameworks and to offer a different perspective. If you have ever asked yourself "Why is it never enough?” or "How come there is always something newer, better or cooler to pursue?", you need to hear what she has to say about it! Marlous van der Veen is experimenting with a lifestyle of less, in a world of more. It is her goal to be a challenger, to stretch current frameworks and to offer a different perspective. Not because she does not want nor can accept the world how it is now, but because she loves to work on how the world can be. “Why can I not be happy with what I have right now? How come there is always something newer, better or cooler to pursue? Why is it never enough?” After struggling with these questions for a while, Marlous found out striving for more is part of a broader societal mindset: the pursuit of more became a predominant lifestyle. She has embraced the concept of minimalism and started her quest for ‘enough’ by experimenting with this alternative lifestyle striving for less. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

[@sinkintostillness]

I've been eliminating 'stuff' from my life over the past year or so. The biggest change I have made is to make sure that I wake up in a space that is clear of clutter. That way my day begins well. It means allowing a bit of time at the end of the day to put anything away that has built up, but it's so worth it. I wake and the view i have from my bed makes me happy. The process of decluttering has created a lightness for me and has enabled me the space to work through my anxiety issues.

[@deeanndavis1256]

This is exactly what I'm currently aiming for-clutter free at least in my bedroom, for now. Reading this was encouraging. ❤️

[@dlxinfinite801]

The simplicity of your concept is amazing. I tried it. It works. Thank you.

[@batirtzeurkiaga4973]

Nice to hear! It gives you a sense of clarity too. Pure well being.

[@shootfilmnotguns2023]

I can't agree more. I also started getting fresh flowers for myself because I rarely buy anything new other than what I really need. I place them on my dresser and wake up to wonderful light shining on my flowers every day. That makes me so happy. Sometimes it's the small things that can make a big difference.

[@johannestepping]

“Love people and use things because the opposite never works” :)

[@nnandan9431]

Very well said .

[@Julie-ev5js]

@@nnandan9431 The Minimalists first said it--it's their catchphrase. : )

[@hangoutwithabhi]

This is the quote from 'The Minimalists'.

[@catscherre8294]

i love that she has notes written on her hand. seems like a real person/ relatable

[@irenafields3324]

I can’t agree more with you. I got to the point that I have more then enough. No more degrees, no more travel to post on Facebook, no more furniture, no more clothes to put on for making difference at all, no more hair dyes, no annoying friends. How less is more. It’s priceless!!! ✌️💕

[@adventuresblissconnection4198]

Minimalism is not about quantity, it’s about quality

[@citizenOfNowhere777]

Some of us do not have that luxury. I was living a minimalist life happily until I got harassed at work 5 3/4 years ago (at the job I currently hold at another location where I have been harassed by the management itself for not backing off the WC I filed for the I jury caused by the harassment of over 1 year that completely broke me ill back 4 1/2 years ago after over over a year of harassment ).

[@den2335]

citizenOfNowhere777 what luxury? You can get good quality clothing for cheap. Thrift stores exist. If everywhere you go you get harassed you have to wonder whether it’s you or the management. Your rant still has nothing to do with OPs comment

[@EBSJones4]

I've just finished a book from 2008 by John Naish on the same subject. It's called "Enough: Breaking Free From the World of Excess". Very good.

[@shootfilmnotguns2023]

Thanks for the book recommendation. I'll check it out.

[@TheRELShow]

This was a great talk! Appreciate the vulnerability.

[@jaypayleitner1]

Minimalism has its roots in the obscure scripture passage found in Proverbs 30:8-9. It's the Prayer of Agur and delivers the secret for finding balance and purpose. In many ways, the opposite of The Prayer of Jabez.

[@francismausley7239]

Excellent thoughts. I get a pure spiritual feeling in my minimalism efforts. "Cleanse the mirrors of your hearts from the dross of the world and all that is therein, that they may reflect the resplendent light of God." ~ Abdu’l-Baha, Baha'i Faith

[@ashleyching5786]

“I am busy, so I exist.”

[@ashleyching5786]

Success is not empty dissatisfaction!

[@scottwillimack184]

I loved you talk! Thank you 🙏

[@uhmalissa]

Good job. Great speech.

[@HairstylesbyCarol]

Great talk, informative and important message, but the audience was not engaged at all.

[@kiwi8476]

She just needed some humor to throw in there every once in a while or a very few select times.

[@pravinjasuja7050]

I second the motion Less is certainly more - more than enough in today's world -- we need more of peace & tranquil lifestyles rather than more if so called stuff which aims at making us happy - let's pledge to follow hyper minimum & disconnect to hyper consumerism - the same applies to food / friends/ & all the toxicity the world throws at you-- umpteen cheers for minimalistic life

[@walkworthy]

Minimalism is rooted in the Bible. When the rich young ruler asked Jesus how he could have eternal life Jesus said "go and sell all your possessions and follow me" The man walked away sad as he had much.

[@unzahid]

powerful words.

[@rambleon2011]

12:30-12:45 is all you need to know and do

[@llowes4658]

busy is the new Prozac

[@kate60]

Excellent

[@crystalfolse3208]

Thanks

[@Leto85]

I love the idea of minimalism, but I have a few issues; what if I minimalise books and films before finding out these are not available online (anymore) on Netflix or the like? What if that one item breaks and I have no second? It isn't always easy or cheap to readily buy a new one.

[@ctmjr2012]

Well, you can keep some but get rid of all of the books that you will never read again.

[@Loeviis]

Minimalism is about having enough. If you don't want to minimize your movies/books, don't minimize your movies/books! It's rather simple! Keep everything your use and love.

[@user-ml3ze8rh7t]

great speech, the audience is impolite

[@PresbianTier]

not really. she wasn't that presentable and a bit awkward at times

[@ashleyching5786]

There is already enough. You are already enough.

[@justinaez4029]

Chúc cho Đức Thật nhiều sức khỏe.

[@leuuuuuuwk]

Ik denk dat als je het in het Nederlands had gedaan, dat het (voor mij persoonlijk) wel beter over was gekomen. Ik snap internationaal publiek in de zaal, dus daar zal dat dan wel aan liggen.

[@daysivalverde3565]

the awkward silence was really awkward for me.

[@den2335]

Daysi Valverde I felt bad for her. She’s clearly nervous and trying to be funny and relatable but the audience is just not having it.

[@PresbianTier]

I thought I was the only one who thought this. poor girl. a for effort but f for delivery/charisma

[@iyakida2053]

I always compute my number of sleep the night before... So when I wake up... I always say I have enough sleep... Hahahaha just a tip...

[@ghostsimonriley13]

😹😹😹😹

[@sutats]

Less is more.

[@heyyou9839]

I was bullied by one of those American guys so year

[@seaniemc828]

Less is more

[@ashleyching5786]

Why do we always want more?

[@CLord-gs7nj]

She addressed it a bit. It is because as a species we are wired to accumulate to prepare for lean times. Like the animals gathering food to prepare for winter.

[@fredwouters9683]

Funny how much adds I have seen during this talk about Minimalism.

[@ashleyching5786]

Identity what’s important. Eliminate the rest.

[@stevenbaumann5911]

I don't know if I will go to the extreme of tossing out most of my stuff. But I think I've reached a point of where I will not buy that much anymore. Example is I own a lot of PlayStation 4 and Xbox 360 games. Some of these have provided me with value because I never really get tired of them. But I will definitely wait and see before I buy any more games. Over the past few years I have regret a certain purchases and wished that I had waited until the reviews were out. On a positive note they make it very easy nowadays do not buy these things because they fit all of their political agendas into these games.

[@lollydoo18]

There's literally hundreads of videos talking about the same approach she talks about on stage here on youtube

[@Razelle]

sometimes we need a refreshment from someone else

[@citizenOfNowhere777]

Some of us do not have that luxury. I was living a minimalist life happily until I got harassed at work 5 3/4 years ago (at the job I currently hold at another location where I have been harassed by the management itself for not backing off the WC I filed for the I jury caused by the harassment of over 1 year that completely broke me ill back 4 1/2 years ago after over over a year of harassment ).

[@smallstudiodesign]

Too bad, so sad ... she’s a great person, great thoughts, ideas & messages to convey ... yet the bleeping AV-sound-Tech positioned microphone wrong (too close), hence why a gusty wind fart every ten seconds. Oh, and speaking of minimalism, I think the speech/story/lecture could be minimized by chopping down to 1/2-3/4 length, and getting more to the point a little bit quicker. - I advise viewers to FFwd- swipe-scrub ahead to 00:12:02, when she actually gets to the beginning of her own process of “minimalism two-step”:dance. Everything before this point is a minimal amount of her own unique story and a lot of copy paste clutter of commonly known facts/notions about society’s excessive spending & consumer demand. I’d cut this down to 00:05:00-00:07:00 in length, in final edit.

[@mollyb8136]

The way you started off the comment, I thought she'd died.

[@calipo97979797]

@@mollyb8136 i thought so too 😂

[@terri6584]

Could it be 1) all the marketing people are exposed to? (Shut-off devices) 2) a culture in a moral decline : ex. greed, coveting what another has. (Instead, Seek God in Church, in nature, serving others vs. more things) Look up more & within. Remember the Ten Commandments.

[@pdxmonkee]

13:16 Minimalism of 1960: a visual art movement. A Millennial version of minimalism: it’s all about “me”. I think it should be changed to ME-nimalism... sad... life is not just about you...

[@BeckersReviews]

You sound more Dutch than fries sauce =)

[@Leto85]

With a name as 'van der Veen' I can only conclude: Dan zal ze dat ook wel zijn. :P

[@cazek445]

"oaf"

[@markojaki1720]

1st yikes

[@JJ-nn9de]

Oof she needs to work on her stage presence and the cohesiveness of her talking points. Her talk didn't flow very well and she didn't really have anything new to add to the conversation on minimalism.

[@mollyb8136]

Or maybe it's the first conversation on minimalism someone's heard. Not everyones had the same journey as you

[@dlxinfinite801]

Maybe she's truly minimalist. Less stage presence, more content.

[@garyschneider5781]

... Yeah, that was really rough to listen to... I kept hoping she would find her confidence and groove, but it just never happened. On well, at least she nailed down the key point about minimalism mainly being a simple two-step process. So, even if she needs help and experience to improve her stage presentations (I guess everyone starts out somewhere), she kept that message minimal and didn't try to over-complicate the thrust of her speech.

[@Whigu]

You should listen what she says not how she says it. World is full of "More show now go" people who have really good stage presence and beautiful presentation but they are not actually saying anything. After their presentation only thing you remember is their presentation gimmicks not what they said... because they didn't say anything useful.

[@JJ-nn9de]

@@Whigu I can understand that perspective. In my opinion, I didn't find that the speaker had anything unique or new to bring to the conversation in addition to not being a great presenter.

[@swoic2122]

Not watching the gutter speaker.

[@DanielaClapp]

Boring

[@mamasghira8117]

You are talking about a true Islam ,our prophet (peace be upon him ) say that we should not have extravagance in every think :material or moral to live satisfied et not necessarly happy all the time 😊

[@cardiacmyxoma4073]

That’s capitalism for you. This is why I support communism.