You’ve probably thought these five words before:
But as things start to slow down…
Perhaps you’ve added a few additional words at the end:
But when things calm down… I’ll start that ministry… take that vacation… complete that book…
Such thoughts indicate a problem: you’re too busy. You’re putting yourself in danger. Unfortunately, slowing down in life does not happen by chance. You can’t just happen to live a balanced life.
That’s because life only keeps moving faster, and you have to keep moving faster to avoid falling behind. If you’re not careful, you’ll live your entire life rushing from one thing to the next in a constant whirlwind of chaos. When you get that busy, you miss out on the best parts of life.
So, let’s talk about why slowing down is important and discuss some practical ways you can slow down.
The Value of Slowing Down
Why is it so vital to slow down? Well, living at a constant breakneck speed has a significant impact on your mental health, physical health, relationships, and productivity.
However, if you emphasize slowing down, you can:
- Concentrate on what is actually important in life. When you live a busy and preoccupied life, it is easy to lose sight of the people and things that are most important to you. Slowing down allows you to establish and adhere to your priorities.
- Stay healthy—physically and mentally. Over-the-top busyness leads to stress, and chronic stress will wear down your mental and physical health. Psychologists and doctors call this unofficial condition hurry sickness, a form of anxiety fueled by constantly trying to squeeze just one more thing into our already packed schedules. Yeah, let’s avoid that.
- Be more productive. This sounds backward, but rest is crucial for productivity. No, really. When you rush and hurry through your work, you’re more likely to make mistakes, and that forces you to go back and redo things you could’ve just gotten right the first time. Going slow and enjoying the moment allows you to bring your best energy and mental focus to your work.
How to Slow Down
Let’s talk about how to slow down and stop feeling so overwhelmed all the time. Now, you need to know that slowing down takes a ton of discipline.
Here are a few practical ways to slow down.
1. Pay attention to what gets your attention.
Part of the reason we stink at slowing down is that we try to divide our attention between a million things all at once. We think multitasking will help us get more done, but it really only leaves us stressed and frazzled.
One way to address this is to spend some time considering where your attention is directed—the people, thoughts and circumstances that you focus on the most.
2. Be present.
It sounds simple, doesn’t it? Just be present. Just be where you are. But if it were easy, we wouldn’t struggle to do it. In our busy lives, with so much competing for our attention, it feels almost impossible to focus on what’s in front of us.
3. Drive the speed limit.
If you want your world to slow down, you might make some progress by literally slowing down your car. Seriously, stop pretending you’re a NASCAR driver or starring in the latest installment of The Fast and the Furious.
Forcing yourself to drive the speed limit and experiencing slowness on a physical level will help you slow down mentally and emotionally.
4. Accept your limitations.
Do you ever feel like it’s your job to save the world? Have you ever signed up and said yes to something you didn’t even want to do because you worried that if you didn’t show up, the whole thing would fall apart?
Accepting your limitations allows you to give yourself some margin for rest, and you need that. You’re not the Energizer Bunny—you’re a human being.
5. Practice silence.
Most of us aren’t very good at being still. After all, we live in a world full of noise where it’s possible to fill every single second of our day with a song, podcast or (unfortunately) TikTok. All those options and distractions often cause us to lose touch with the world around us and ourselves.
But what if you could just stop? What if you could tune out the world for a little bit? And what if you could replace it with silence?
Here’s one way to make that happen: For just one week, try spending all your time in the car in silence. No radio, podcast or music. That will definitely help calm your mind, and you may even decide to make it a permanent part of your commute.
Wind-Up
Slowing down is difficult, but it is achievable. If you commit to following these steps, you will notice a difference in the speed of your life. And if you stick with it long enough, your life will slow down and you will be able to enjoy it more. Consider how much tranquility that would bring.
