6 Reasons Why Slowing Down Makes You Smarter, Faster, And Live Longer
6 Reasons Why Slowing Down Makes You Smarter, Faster, And Live Longer
Besides, you separate yourself from all those I-am-too-busy-to-talk-to-you posers
No, you are not supposed to turn into a turtle. But you can still go slow.
We can’t make the world reduce its crazy speed. Economics, greed, and human’s constant desire to advance tech and developments in all kinds of areas won’t listen to the many exhausted, burned out, and drop dead trying to withstand stress, hustle, and over-racing.
But what does the constant push and pressure do to you? It makes you sick and you want things and life to slow down a bit.
Slowing down is not so much about all of us pulling the emergency brake of the turning globe, it is rather about your mindset, how you approach your life, and about taking time to reflect and paying attention to yourself and what’s happening around you.
If you take a closer look you will find a lot of reasons why slowing down makes your life and work life better.
Here are 6 reasons I like you to think about why slowing down is so valuable:
You Jack Up Your Life Expectancy Significantly
Slowing down helps to notice the signals in your body and to see the warning lights going off that you are going way too fast on the race track.
The Blue Zones study of the centennials around the world discovered several overlapping habits that make those old folks live longer than the rest of us while staying fit and healthy. „Stress leads to chronic inflammation (…). What the world’s longest-lived people have that we don’t are routines to shed that stress.“
Slow down to pause, reflect, walk, and eat with consciousness (while sitting, not on the run) – you might have greater chances of not dropping dead before retirement.
The View Back From Your Death Bed Will Be Brighter
Life is not a race. You can actually enjoy life while you come each day closer to the goal line.
Now, imagine you are on your death bed looking back on your life. Will you say, gosh, I am so glad I rushed through life to get every possible thing, activity, and experience done but it ended up like a crazy fast time-lapse video?
Everything adds up so fast, that you forgot to slow down to actually savor the special moments and your favorite people.
How do you want to remember your life and your loved ones?
You Actually Notice Things, Which Makes You Smarter And Faster
Do you realize how much you miss because you are just running, rushing, and reacting?
If you pace yourself a bit you can go beyond the surface and get a deeper understanding of the matter, you are better able to draw connections between different points, perspectives, and information.
Slowing down means you can take your time to listen to people and pay attention to what you see, hear and perceive which gives you more insights and a competitive advantage.
You Slow Down, And You Become You
Rushing through your daily schedule without pausing and reflecting you miss the chance to feel yourself, realize what you really want, and understand yourself better.
“Over the coming century, the most vital human resource in need of conservation and protection is likely to be our own consciousness and mental space.” Tim Wu
Becoming You means you know your values and principles, and you love, respect, and appreciate yourself.
You Improve Your Focusing, Concentration And Decision Making Skills
You would love to be better at focusing on what is in front of you, be more concentrated on what you do and be more secure and clear in your decisions? Well, there is hope for you.
Slowing down helps you to be more intentional with your time and what you do and who you spend time with.
Give yourself some breathing and thinking space and you are better equipped to focus and concentrate on the task at hand or the person in front of you. With a little bit more time to think things over or to weigh you can make better-informed decisions.
You Gain Free Membership To The Joy Of Missing Out (JOMO) Club
We live in a fast-paced world where we are bombarded with too many offers and possibilities for how we can spend our time.
The FOMO Fear of Missing Out Club comes with a price attached though. You pay with a permanent feeling of restlessness, decision fatigue, and pressure of keeping up with the Kardashians.
The club that lets you not miss out on precious moments with your loved ones, yourself or things important to you is called the Joy Of Missing Out and it comes with free membership. Take advantage of that!
FOR.YOU
If you take a closer look you will find a lot of reasons why slowing down makes your life and work-life better.
You Jack Up Your Life Expectancy Significantly
The View Back From Your Death Bed Will Be Brighter
You Actually Notice Things, Which Makes You Smarter And Faster
You Slow Down, You Become You
You Improve Your Focusing, Concentration And Decision Making Skills
You Gain Free Membership To The Joy Of Missing Out (JOMO) Club
Book Recommendation
In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the cult of speed – Carl Honoré
The author Carl Honoré, a recovering speedaholic, explores in his book the question if it is possible, or even desirable, to slow down our lives.
He found out that realizing the price we pay for unrelenting speed, people all over the world are reclaiming their time and slowing down the pace -- and living happier, healthier, and more productive lives as a result. A Slow revolution is taking place.