What Is Slow Life And Why It Is Useful To Take Your Time

How to stop fussing and get things done

WHY WE ARE ALWAYS IN A HURRY AND WHAT’S WRONG WITH IT

Hurry is the basic format of modern life, and the missed opportunity syndrome (SUV or in English FOMO – fear of missing out) is the main motivator of a hasty approach to everyday life. Hurry is always accompanied by anxiety and fuss in the style of the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland – “Oh, my mustache ears! How late I am!”

Nowadays, everyone has to deal with multitasking, a huge amount of information, a focus on results, and burning deadlines. The pursuit of “successful success” makes us compare ourselves to those who are richer, prettier, athletic, smarter and constantly raise the bar of standards. Being constantly busy is an indicator of purposefulness, ambition, and demand. The more and faster you work, the more you will be on time and earn, and if you become the first, then you will receive recognition, approval, and reward. However, scientists warn: fuss should not be abused – the human brain is not designed for multitasking and constant haste.

“The reverse side of haste and multitasking is stress, inability to concentrate and make a decision, fatigue, guilt, constant anxiety because you will be overtaken and you will miss something,” a clinical psychologist comments on the problem. – If you do not take care of regular pauses for recovery and rest under such a load, then emotional, mental and physical exhaustion will inevitably come – the so-called internal burnout, which is accompanied by failures in the vital systems of the body: nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, digestive. At first, the disorders will be functional, but if they are ignored, there is a risk that they will turn into chronic diseases.

BENEFITS OF SLOWNESS

“Whoever understands life is no longer in a hurry,” wrote the Arab poet Omar Khayyam. Another Eastern wisdom says that each of us has a limited number of breaths and heartbeats, and therefore they must be spent slowly. Of course, we are all different, and someone likes life at high speeds, and multitasking seems to be sewn into their genetic code. But it’s one thing when you consciously choose to run continuously, and quite another when you do it by inertia, avoiding stops and asking yourself: “Am I happy?” and “Am I doing what I always wanted to do?”

Another wise saying: “If you hurry, you will make people laugh.” Our expert advises to distinguish lethargy from regularity. “Being leisurely means being confident in intentions, deeds and relationships,” explains the expert. – A leisurely person with a smooth connection of actions is able to gradually increase speed without losing internal balance, while maintaining stability and coordination at an increased pace. Vanity, on the contrary, interrupts and confuses. Lower pace – less stress and “jambs”. In a hurry, a person makes more mistakes and is forced to correct them, as a result, the time for the task takes much more.

SLOW LIFE PRINCIPLES

The popular slow life movement began as a protest against the opening of a McDonald’s restaurant near Piazza di Spagna in Rome in 1986. Activist Carlo Petrini and his followers demonstrated against fast food and then founded the International Slow Food Movement. Following this initiative, various directions of slow philosophy began to emerge, the basic principle of which is to not rush anywhere, to feel confident in yourself and in the world around you. Slow life – life in comfort with yourself and without strain.

Geir Bertelsen, the founder of The World Institute of Slowness, explains what slow life is like: “Slowness is the time here and now that works for you, helping you to comprehend awareness.”

As the adherents of “slow life” explain, this lifestyle is focused on sensations. This is not a set of rules to follow, but a state in which you feel your needs and follow them. Relatively speaking, when you need to sleep, you sleep, when you need to eat – eat, and do not chase deadlines. Thus, you analyze what you like and what you don’t, get rid of unnecessary discomfort, and life tunes into a leisurely wave, without losing its significance and productivity.

At the same time, “slowlife” is not a synonym for “slow motion”. You do not need to do everything pathologically slowly or bother so much that you do not miss a single drop of rain. It’s about not stressing yourself and about

circling, completing their tasks at a comfortable pace.

7 STEPS TO SLOW LIFESTYLE

No matter what step you start with, the meaning of slow life is the same – to get in touch with yourself, to understand what you want and how you feel every minute of your amazing life.

• Determine what is important to you at the moment, focusing on work-life balance. Remember: not being the first is normal, being tired is also normal. Slow down for self-love – self-criticism increases stress.
• Learn to say “no” to things that make you nervous and “yes” to things that are good for you and your mood. For starters, it might be worth giving up weekend work and learning to build boundaries with others.
• Practice monotasking – as opposed to multitasking. Concentration on one thing is one of the main principles of slow life, following which you can plunge into the state of “flow”, which is much talked about and dreamed of.
• Be present in every moment and action. Start small, like when you brush your teeth, focus on the process as you wash your hands, surrender to the feeling of water flowing over them. Yes, this is about awareness, the development of which slowness is only beneficial.
• Don’t overload your calendar with appointments and events. Act according to your values ​​and needs, rather than compete with the achievements of others. No one is perfect, everyone has their own problems, experiences and the path to success, to which it is not necessary to rush at full speed. And a mini-tip: always plan to be 10 minutes early everywhere and you will be surprised how much calmer you will feel.
• Take time to relax, communicate with loved ones, loved ones, smart and pleasant people. Allow yourself the banal doing nothing – take a walk, stare, lie down, dream, watch what is happening outside the window. When nothing distracts you, interesting ideas and answers to important questions can come to mind.
• Bet on digital minimalism. Adepts of slow life do not refuse technologies, but use them exclusively as a tool. To begin with, it is enough to clean gadgets from unnecessary applications, games, subscriptions and contacts.