Hi. I have been following Bob and his message for years now. I am joining the forum in an attempt to begin forming a connection to those who wish to put his methods and philosophy to the ultimate test. Participation. I have started the long, hard journey to become a mobile minimalist. It's pretty scary doing it alone. I really appreciate this forum, and, what it and Bob's vision do for humanity. It's nice to be here.
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- Thread starter Truckin
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highdesertranger
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Welcome Truckin to the CRVL forums! To help you learn the ins and outs of these forums, this "Tips, Tricks and Rules" post lists some helpful information to get you started.
Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.
We look forward to hearing more from you.
highdesertranger
Most of our rules boil down to two simple over-riding principles: 1) What you post should provide good information (like your introductory post), and 2) Any response to someone else's post should make them feel glad they are part of this forum community.
We look forward to hearing more from you.
highdesertranger
Thank you. I had not heard of the 1000 step journey. It does help put things into perspective. Every morning I mostly wake up feeling anxious when I look around at all the junk/stuff I need to sort, organize and get rid of. It's just like a big octopus and I'm the wrangler.
I found remembering what it was like when I visited somewhere helped. I put everything I needed in a duffel bag and tried living out of it for a week. Anything I didn't use that week got stored away in a box with the date I put it in there. I ended up with a backpack that I now keep ready for unexpected trips. Anything around the house you didn't use this month put in a storage box. Write today's date on the lid. If you haven't needed to dig it out of the box and use it in two months get rid of it. Store pictures of what is in the box electronically if pictures or documents. Important paper documents can be put in bank deposit box or filed with the county clerk's office. It is mainly making yourself realize what you need to touch and use as opposed to owning and storing.
Pictures is a great idea. All these storage tubs! Boxes! Stuff! It overwhelmes me. I have been thinking about this for a few years now and I have not been preparing because my plans all hinged on what happened with jobs. Now, all of a sudden, everything tells me go west. I'm really frustrated doing things alone. I hear it's easy to find women who are into off grid or homesteading/vanlife and the like, but it has not been. I have a hard time with decisions too. I sit there going through small stuff for hours. But really I should shovel it all into a dumpster. It's junk. But it's all so personal too. I never really saw the extent of it before. All for what? I'm going to rot away one day soon! I feel so stupid. Bob's minimalism video really hit home. I have been living in a daydream called the american dream. Now I wake up feeling like I have been fooled into creating my own prison complete with a set of rules, bills and possible fines for not "gettin' my mind right" like "the man" said.
Don't spend so much time dwelling on your emotional feelings. Just set out the task and get on with it.
That feeling of being caged or trapped etc comes from thinking, thinking, thinking. That is the cage you are running around endlessly inside of your own head. Every single book you read about successful people will tell you to use check list of work to be done and checking things off gives you the immediate reinforcement you need to keep on going. Focus on the list, don't focus on your emotions other than making sure they stay directed and on task rather than dragging you onto the endless wheel that goes round and round.
By the way you can break the habit of your brain drifting onto that endless time wasting and energy consuming emotion wheel all the time. All you have to do is teach yourself to mentally say a few "magic" words, they can be tailored to your preference. An example of those words are "stop", "enough", "focus", "get back to work", "its not break time yet" etc. You might have to say it a number of times when you first get started in the practice of switching off that thought train. But before long you will get into the practice of not running on the wheel for more than a second or two at the most. That is because it does not take all that long of a time to teach your brain to shut it off when you start thinking those thoughts that were demotivating and demobilizing you.
It makes zero difference how, when or why you accumulated the possessions you want to let go of. So quit daydreaming about all that stuff and just move on and think about goal results instead of causes. You might well end up letting go of a few things you wish you had kept and for sure you will keep things you later realize you don't need. That is normal, it happens to everyone and it is not a tragedy, it is an annoyance.
That feeling of being caged or trapped etc comes from thinking, thinking, thinking. That is the cage you are running around endlessly inside of your own head. Every single book you read about successful people will tell you to use check list of work to be done and checking things off gives you the immediate reinforcement you need to keep on going. Focus on the list, don't focus on your emotions other than making sure they stay directed and on task rather than dragging you onto the endless wheel that goes round and round.
By the way you can break the habit of your brain drifting onto that endless time wasting and energy consuming emotion wheel all the time. All you have to do is teach yourself to mentally say a few "magic" words, they can be tailored to your preference. An example of those words are "stop", "enough", "focus", "get back to work", "its not break time yet" etc. You might have to say it a number of times when you first get started in the practice of switching off that thought train. But before long you will get into the practice of not running on the wheel for more than a second or two at the most. That is because it does not take all that long of a time to teach your brain to shut it off when you start thinking those thoughts that were demotivating and demobilizing you.
It makes zero difference how, when or why you accumulated the possessions you want to let go of. So quit daydreaming about all that stuff and just move on and think about goal results instead of causes. You might well end up letting go of a few things you wish you had kept and for sure you will keep things you later realize you don't need. That is normal, it happens to everyone and it is not a tragedy, it is an annoyance.
Hey Trukin,
You are not alone. You got a Two Million Year Old friend always with you.
https://www.cheaprvliving.com/philosophy/two-million-year-old-man/
That is some good philosophy, that closely resembles some of my own metaphysical preferences.
Learning to meditate and find the inner relationship with the Universe can help you feel not all alone, you are connected to the greater soul.
You are not alone. You got a Two Million Year Old friend always with you.
https://www.cheaprvliving.com/philosophy/two-million-year-old-man/
That is some good philosophy, that closely resembles some of my own metaphysical preferences.
Learning to meditate and find the inner relationship with the Universe can help you feel not all alone, you are connected to the greater soul.
Turtlelady
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Hi,Truckin. Your introduction post has me wondering which of the aspects of "mobile minimalism" overwhelms you the most. Is it the mobile or the minimalism? Sounds as if you may be freer than most to hit the road. I am curious to hear more about your current situation and your goals. Do you have much camping or road tripping experience? Do you hope to work on the road? I think you are going to enjoy getting to know the many folks here on the forum. Do you think you want to go to RTR?
Maki2, Thank you for your post. Your observation is correct... I appreciate the teqniques you left here. I think they would work if I was not so emotional. That is my biggest problem. My main goal is to get out, away and feel better. I am afraid I will carry alot of issues with me though. I am afraid of change. It will be such a big change that it feels possibly unrealistic. I will use your post as a reference!
Patrick, thank you for the link. I will research some of the topics listed there. I am very interested in metaphysics and philosophy, but only have found time to read into it recently. I really wish we didn't have to have these 2 million year old bodies!
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Welcome Truckin, It takes a long time to get rid of possessions. I've been trying for over a year. My house is almost empty. Just have the basement to tackle. Anyway, I'm 61 with a bad knee and torn rotator cuff. It hurts to kneel and to get up off the floor. Moving boxes is mostly out of the question. If I was still young & healthy, this could have been finished in weeks or a month. Give yourself time.
In the meantime, I watched a ton of youtube vids & daydreamed about all the new stuff I want for my camper, lol. I managed to buy two Luci lights
Don't know if you have kids, but I finally started giving everything to my kids. I still have boxes of photos to sort. I've been giving my kids their photos & hope to mail photos to old friends. Once I'm gone, my kids won't know who the people in the pics are anyway.
Just saying to expect packing up to take a long time. And expect it to hurt at times. Maybe look up possible destinations & figure out the miles and cost of gas. Lists on paper are always a good thing
Hang in there.
In the meantime, I watched a ton of youtube vids & daydreamed about all the new stuff I want for my camper, lol. I managed to buy two Luci lights
Don't know if you have kids, but I finally started giving everything to my kids. I still have boxes of photos to sort. I've been giving my kids their photos & hope to mail photos to old friends. Once I'm gone, my kids won't know who the people in the pics are anyway.
Just saying to expect packing up to take a long time. And expect it to hurt at times. Maybe look up possible destinations & figure out the miles and cost of gas. Lists on paper are always a good thing
Hang in there.
Thank you for those tips! I see we're both list makers and dreamers. I just spent a day thinking about prius living. I'm sorry about your joint pain! I sympathize as I've had it too. Hope you have a heating pad! I appreciate you and everybody writing. It helps to know other people have alot of the same problems. Also, those doing more with less. And those that make efforts to help us, who have problems...
