The Lost Art of Slowing Down

You’re always on the go.
You have a never-ending To-Do list.
There’s always too much to do and too little time to do it.

This is what people tell me every day.

As a culture, we have created a super fast-paced, busy lifestyle for ourselves. Technology contributes to this: so many new devices and 24/7 availability anytime, anywhere.

Over the years, we’ve learned how to speed up and now the problem is that we have forgotten how to slow down. You want to slow down, yet you just can’t seem to do it (can’t seem to find the time!).

The Cost of Not Slowing Down

The obvious cost: stress and anxiety are on the rise with over 40 million people in our country suffering from anxiety. 

The not-so-obvious cost: when you never slow down, you start to live life on “autopilot.” Life is driven more by outside activities and influences, rather than being guided by YOU – by what YOU really want and need to feel happy and healthy.

You may feel like you can’t change the situation…too many responsibilities and expectations seem out of your control. It feels like life is happening TO you (autopilot), instead of you being in charge of your life and your happiness.

Turning off the Autopilot

I invite YOU to slow down now. Stop long enough to reflect on what you love and don’t love. You’ll need a little quiet time and a paper and pen to make notes. 

Breathe deeply and imagine what you’d like to have different/better in your life. What inspires you and makes you feel good?

Slow down and you’ll you have a better idea of the way you want your life to be instead of the way autopilot created it.

Taking Charge

Once you have that vision of what you want, how do you create it?

Creating something new in your life requires 3 things to be congruent:

1. Your thoughts and words
2. Your feelings
3. Your actions

Thoughts
Slow down enough to stay conscious of your thoughts. Everything that has ever been created started as an idea or thought. Choose your thoughts deliberately. Think about what’s important to you. Think specifically about those things you want to be different and better. Think about them every single day.

Feelings
The way you feel is always a result of the thoughts you’ve been thinking. Slow down enough to pay attention to your feelings. If you’re not feeling good about how your life is being created, it’s a sign to stop and think more about the vision you want to create.

Actions
Slow down and ask yourself: What small thing could I do today to bring me closer to what I really want? Move consciously in the direction of your vision one little action at a time.