When I leave the house and go somewhere, I see other people. The thing I’ve noticed is that at least half of the people I see are in a hurry. They want to do their grocery shopping really quickly, they want to go home as soon as possible and they are not patient at all. I am going, to be honest, and say I was one of those people. But these days I definitely slowed down and I think it made me a better person. Slow living is a popular lifestyle these days and today I give you reasons to slow down.
Reasons to slow down
You will experience less stress
When I was one of those people who was always in a hurry, I was feeling stressed. I was constantly thinking about my to-do list and all the things I had to do each day. It was also a sport for me to get a lot of things done in a short amount of time. But I was feeling terrible. Now I am a completely different person. I try to do one thing at a time, I do not push myself to work harder and in the morning I take time for myself to start the day right. It changed my life because I am feeling so much more relaxed.
You will be nicer
And because I am feeling more relaxed, I am also a lot nicer to other people. When you are feeling stressed, you will probably snap at people. But now I take the time for everything. I look around me and I smile at other people. Normally, I would have complained about other people, but now I don’t do that anymore. I now have a more everything-will-be-okay-mindset too. I also feel that I am more approachable, which totally makes sense. I prefer talking to people who look relaxed too.
You will have more patience
Every day I take my bike to work and I have to wait a lot for cars. A year ago, I was so impatient. I just did not want to wait and it made me feel frustrated every time I had to wait. But now I see it more as an opportunity to take a deep breath in and out. At the stores, I am more okay with waiting in the queue too. Although, I am not perfect and I still get impatient when I have to wait too long.
Quality versus quantity
Everyone always says quality over quantity, but they don’t take their own advice. When you are not slowing down, you want to do a lot of things at the same time as fast as possible. But when you slow down, you focus on the quality of your life and (mental) health. Take the time for each thing you have/want to do. Don’t rush it.
How to slow down
Do not focus on the clock. Looking at the clock at work, for example, can make you feel you don’t have enough time, and then you try to hurry which can result in making mistakes.
Give yourself a moment of rest. Take half an hour or longer for yourself each day. Just sit down and make yourself a cup of tea and enjoy it. This helps your brain to slow down.
Go outside/Spend time in nature. Spending time in nature can reduce your stress levels and make you feel more relaxed.
Less is more. We want so many things and we want to do so many things. I get it but ask yourself if you really need all that stuff and if you really have to do those things right now.
Use all of your senses. A way to slow down and live in the moment is to use your senses. Name something you can see, hear, feel, smell, and taste. This can also help if you have anxiety/panic attacks.
Enjoy the process. Everyone has goals and we mostly care about the goal itself and not the process. If you want to slow down, try to enjoy the process itself too.
Stop multitasking. Multitasking is something I would never recommend. You can focus on 2 tasks at the same time, but you will get better results if you take your time and do one thing at a time.
Eat slowly. When you make dinner, enjoy making it. When you eat your dinner, do it slowly and enjoy it.
Listen to the other person during a conversation. Sometimes during a conversation, we already think about the next thing we want to say. But try to focus on the person. It will also give them the feeling that you are truly listening and they will appreciate that.
Photo by Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash