“Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going to fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.”
Eddie Cantor
How fast are you moving? Is it time to slow down mentally, physically, or both?
Sometimes we are forced to make a change in our pace based on things beyond our control. Rather than wait for this to happen, why not make a conscious effort today to slow your gait? Here are a few tips:
1. Move from auto-pilot to awareness: Reflect on the “mundane” things you do each day such as laundry, brushing your teeth, or driving to work. Do you remember these minutes or hours? Are they lost due to our minds in high gear thinking ahead, worrying over things beyond our control, ruminating over the past? Try viewing these routines as ways to simply be in the moment and experience it through all our senses. The goal isn’t for perfection, but instead starting with small moments of mindfulness, which will build over time.
2. Gratitude for your own backyard: Do you find yourself peeking over the fence into other people’s lives and playing the comparison game? Allowing the accomplishments of others to become barometers of our own sense of worth is a dangerous path to go down. When you start feeling tinges of envy, ask yourself what’s behind the sensation, acknowledge it, then list off five things you are grateful for in your life.
3. Let it go: Release thought patterns, activities, people, and habits that no longer serve you. What you might discover is a huge amount of new space in your life for things that allow you to slow down and enjoy life.
4. *Disconnect: Is technology running your life? Try setting aside time each day for emails, the phone, and television. When we disconnect technology and tune into the people and moments around us, it’s easier to slow down.
