It feels strange to sit down and begin writing this post after taking a few months away from the blog. I stepped back from many of my social endeavors, including YouTube, the blog, and Instagram, to focus on my personal growth.
Discovering yourself and giving time to pursue your passions are essential to your overall life happiness. And I found that by stepping away from the screen and truly focusing on myself, I opened up doors of opportunity to learn, grow, and hone my personal interests.
So today, I’m going to dive into why you should consider slowing down as well as provide some ways you can go about it.
Disclaimer: All of the views and opinions in this post are solely my own and are not sponsored. This post may include affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission through links at no cost to you.
Why should you slow down?
After slowing down and taking a few steps back from the reality I had created for myself, I began to notice how high-strung I’d become and how I had easily slipped into mismanaging my time. I used to invest so much effort into living slowly and simply a few years ago—around the time I started my YouTube channel. And then, all of that knowledge slowly faded, and I ended up right back where I started.
If you’re interested in slowing down, or at the very least, in learning how to live a more peaceful and fulfilled life. Here’s what I can offer you.
It relieves stress
Above all, slowing down has relieved so much stress. In modern society, we are told that we should always be busy: going to school, hanging out with friends, and staying up to date with the media and the news. We’re told that if we aren’t working towards a project or making money, we are not productive.
This ideology has reshaped how we live our lives and has given us a toxic view of what life should be like. Were we born to work hard, pay the bills, and die? Or were we born to learn, grow, and inspire?
I’ll admit that I, too, have fallen prey to toxic capitalistic ideas. I often think I should be making more, saving more, or working harder if I want to live a fulfilled life. But you know what? That’s simply not true.
Slowing down taught me that it’s okay to pursue passions just for the sake of it. It taught me that it’s okay to pursue my spirituality and not feel like I’m being unproductive because it doesn’t earn me anything other than peace in return.
Slowing down will teach you that there is more to this life than what we are taught. And in that, it will also show you how you can relieve a lot of stress.
It allows you to spend more time being intentional
I have a few posts about intentionality, and I’m ashamed to say that somehow, I managed to stray away from my own advice!
But in the past few months, I’ve realized that slow living isn’t just about relieving stress or stepping away from the daily grind. It’s also about being more intentional with your time.
During my break from work, I chose to focus on more things that made me happy. I left social media and began to launch a new business endeavor instead. (You can learn more about Indy Tarot Mystique here!) Beyond that, I spent more time learning: watching documentaries, reading books, etc.
How you spend your time is up to you, and everyone’s version of “intentional” will look different. For me, intentionality was about creating and learning. For you, it can be something else entirely, and that’s perfectly okay!
Book & documentary recs:
- America Before by Graham Hancock (book)
- The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer (book)
- The Social Dilemma (documentary)
- What’s with Wheat? (documentary)
- Saving Capitalism (documentary)
You can pursue your goals
Another fascinating aspect of slow living is that you actually have more time to pursue your goals. Now, it’s important to be intentional with your time and that may require a small amount of self-discipline, but with that in mind, you can find more time for what you love!
What did I choose to do with my time? Well, I started a new tarot reading and astrology reading business. Spirituality and divination are things I really enjoy and I finally took the leap to give this knowledge to others. Beyond that, I’ve been painting more. Taking photos. Gardening. And soaking up as much knowledge as I could. These are all things I set out to achieve for myself, and I’m happy that I slowed down enough to give these projects some love.
Ways you can invite a slower and simpler lifestyle to your everyday
Okay, it’s all well and good to consider how slowing down can change your life, but how can you go about enacting this new lifestyle? Here’s what I did.
Cut back on social media usage
One of the BIGGEST things that changed my life during the “slowing down” period was cutting back on social media.
I know. I know. We hear this all the time, but I swear, it’s a game-changer. Just taking a day/week/month away from the screen can vastly change your perception of self and the world. I stepped down from content creation and spent a few days away from my phone. I added screen-time restrictions, and I did my best to involve myself wholly in the present moment.
We spend so much time-consuming content on the internet, and I never realized how much that content was weighing on me. It’s easy to compare yourself to others based on looks, how much you’ve learned, your lifestyle in general, or even how productive you’ve been. I realized that this comparison game was holding me back from focusing on myself, and it was extremely challenging to pull myself out of the “game.” But in the end, stepping away from social media made a VAST difference.
I also watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix, which opened my eyes about media, propaganda, and how it’s easy to waste our time-consuming. Pair that documentary with the two Minimalism documentaries that I watched on Netflix and now you’ve created a whirlwind of realization that social media, or any instant media for that matter, can quickly become toxic.
So now, I have screen time restrictions, down time after 9pm (which I actually had before my social media hiatus), and I’m slowly easing back into the online landscape. Furthermore, I’ve done my best to follow news sources that I both agree and disagree with to keep myself out of an echo chamber. While I don’t typically get into politics on any of my platforms, I will always stand by the idea that It’s important not to get sucked into the media you consume and to remember to pause and reflect on everything that comes across your feed. Or, step away.
Take a week off from work
Another way to help you slow down and really appreciate living in the present moment is to take a week off work. Bonus points if you spend the time going nowhere in particular, having no plans, and spending your time being creative doing a hobby you love!
While I completely understand that this is not feasible for everyone (ex: you have kids, you’re tight on money, you have a tough relationship with the need for productivity, etc), even taking one or two days off to do NOTHING and instead, focus on yourself can be groundbreaking.
I’ve found, over and over again, that when I give myself time to be alone and to do things outside of work, I tend to feel much happier and more present in my life. I find myself when I give time to myself. And so, I think it’s vital that we step away from the daily grind every now and then to reconnect with who we are at our cores and to do things that genuinely just bring us joy and nothing more.
Explore new and different hobbies
If you’re looking to slow down and live a more intentional life, then exploring new and different hobbies can help you make that leap. Some hobbies that I’ve picked up in the last few years and have deeply fallen in love with include:
- scrapbooking
- Painting
- Painting clothes!
- Embroidery
- Tarot reading
- Watching documentaries
- Reading books I wouldn’t normally pick up
- Dressing up for no reason/experimenting with my fashion choices
And of course, there are plenty of other activities and hobbies that you could attempt. These are just the ones that I personally enjoy.
Still, trying new things, learning, and branching out of your comfort zone can help you find a new appreciation for your life. It helps build gratitude and offers you something new and refreshing to do that breaks you out of any routine you could be stuck in.
Eat good food, seriously
While this seems entirely out of place, I promise you that you truly are what you eat.
When I started slowing down, I began learning about food and nutrition. And to make a long story short, I eventually came to understand that I wasn’t nourishing my body properly. Which, in turn, led me to feel lost, confused, and exhausted.
I decided to be more intentional about what I was eating, and, lo and behold, I suddenly felt happier, more connected, and more focused. With a proper diet, I was able to really value and savor the foods I was eating. I was living in the moment. And I had a renewed sense of vigor for life.
While I can’t advise any dietary plans here, nor can I talk at length in this post about how nutrition has truly changed my approach to slowing down and living simply, I can offer a few documentaries that helped me evolve my food mindset by listing them below:
- What’s With Wheat? (on Gaia)
- Seaspiracy (on Netflix)
- What the Health (Netflix)
- Transcendence Extended Interviews: Secrets of the Food Industry with Vani Hari (Gaia)
And while not a documentary, I also recommend looking into Roundup and Glyphosate. There are many sources about this topic. What’s with Wheat? Touches on this topic a little as well.
While these are not extensive lists, I hope you can begin your journey to a slower and intentional life through an education about how what you eat and how you think can change your reality.
It’s not easy to slow down, but it can be life-changing. And while we are likely to stray from our desired path now and again, we can always come back to a simple and healthy lifestyle through intention and self-discipline.
If you like this post, check out some similar posts of mine below!
Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know how slow living has impacted your life!
You can also email me with questions or concerns you may have at info.amelia.wilson@gmail.com
Be sure to check out my books if you’re looking for some fantastical reads (:
Or, head to my YouTube channel to learn about journaling!
Disclaimer: All of the views and opinions in this post are solely my own and are not sponsored. This post may include affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission through links at no cost to you.
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