Things which have most hold on us, as the concealment of our few possessions, are often a mere nothing.  It is a nothing which our imagination magnifies into a mountain.  Another turn of the imagination would make us discover without difficulty.

—Blaise Pascal, Pensées

“If you lose something, be grateful. The loss frees you from care.”

—Abba Euprepius

Identify things you do not really need. Seek a smaller house rather than a large one. Identify at least one activity that you can withdraw from to make more free time in your life. Identify one relationship you need to sever.

Anxiety and the Simple Life
Fr Dn Charles Joiner

“I never wanted to have anything in my life that I couldn’t stand losing.”

—Audrey Niffenegger

“How much happier is the man who owes nothing to anybody except the one he can most easily refuse, himself!”

—Seneca, On the Shortness of Life

“If anyone thinks he is without attachment to some object, but is grieved at its loss, then he is completely deceiving himself.”

—St. John Climacus, The Ladder of Divine Ascent

“The less I needed, the better I felt.”

—Charles Bukowski

You can live a life of ingratitude where you spend all of your money, or you can live a life of service where you invest it in yourself and others. Your choice.

I used to think I was somebody. So I used all my money to prove it.

Now I know that I’m nobody unless I’m helping somebody. This isn’t a bad thing, despite what you see on social media. I simply don’t care about being seen anymore. I’m happy being invisible or visible.

Money Can’t Buy Happiness (trust me, I’ve tried).
Jane Hwangbo

22.  Go without. Try not replacing something, go without and see what creative solutions appear.

25 Ways to Choose Less Every Day

Often, waiting on a purchase and living without it makes you realize either you already had something that did the job or you didn’t really need the thing in the first place.

Do Less: A Minimalist Guide to a Simplified, Organized, and Happy Life
Rachel Jonat