Goal making is important for many minimalists, and for good reason. In fact, I recently talked about some of my goals for 2011. Consciously creating goals and reviewing them adds clarity, focus and direction. Leo Babauta’s Zen Habits, I believe, has played a significant role in the now popular convergence between minimalism, simplicity, and positive goal setting.

I notice many people interested in minimalism, specifically new information seekers, who read a bunch of interesting and valuable information about minimalism from places like:

Meg Wolfe at Minimalist Woman

Josh Becker at Becoming Minimalist

Courtney Carver at Be More With Less

Penelope at Brazen Careerist

Colin Wright at Exile Lifestyle

These sites definitely provide value and each differs in their perspective on minimalism. The problem lies in where I see many people who suddenly think, “great this is awesome, all I have to do is adopt minimalism, create goals, and life will be awesome!”

But unfortunately I have found life doesn’t work this way. Rarely is there a magic bullet to anything. And living a minimalist path isn’t one either. I am directing my word of caution primarily at those new to minimalism or interested in trying. But the advice also applies to those, including myself,  who are more familiar with minimalism but have encountered some frustrations.

Minimalism, alone, can not change your life.

It can only provide a path.

I think it’s an important point to get across because I rarely hear it spoken about. Getting rid of excess, creating goals, and trying on new ways of thinking is wonderful. But be careful to monitor your expectations as well.  It takes time for the changes that most often get made to set in. And it also takes persistence to continually challenge old habits again and again.

Minimalism’s biggest help is to create a sense of direction. But once the direction is set, the decision to consistently take action still lies with yourself. And this fact remains whether one chooses to adopt minimalism or not.