I think we need to slow down

I’ve been preaching the importance of slowing down for years but to be honest I haven’t been following my own advice. The thought of slowing down scares the shit out of me. Maybe it’s to do with having immigrant parents. Maybe it’s watching my mom go through two divorces and come out of them working harder than before. Whatever the reason, going full-steam ahead seems to be my default state.

“You need to chill.” Someone close to me said this to me and I immediately jumped of the defensive. I AM chill. I journal a ton, a have lots of downtime activities, I meditate…I’ve been told I’m a “chill girl” my whole life. But this year I’ve actually taken a step back to examine why they said this, what my body is telling me, what my intuition has been saying for years.

The fact of the matter is I haven’t been “chill”. I’ve been anxious, stressed, overworking, and worrying. And in-turn that’s lead me to burning out, isolating myself, and not having headspace to do anything else. I’m getting forgetful, I don’t want to see people, I’ve neglected my health, and I’m not present. I notice it in my relationships both with others and with myself. Once I started noticing, I couldn’t unsee it. Do I even know what being chill means?

This thought has constantly been in the back of my mind lately. I’m not going to pretend I’m an expert in this field because I’m really just at the start of figuring it all out. What does slowing down look like for me? What are the roots of my issues and how can I restructure how I do things to actually prevent all of these detrimental consequences?

As I’m learning and reading and thinking this through, I’d love to share my journey. Hopefully it helps you determine whether it’s something you need to do as well. Even the awareness of knowing it’s time to make a change has given me a renewed sense of motivation and inspiration. If I’m being honest with myself, I’ve been on autopilot for far too long.

So far, here are some of the benefits I’ve been experiencing as I look inward and start this new healing journey:

• Being able to communicate more clearly
• Improving my boundary setting in a more clear cut way
• Have more energy to socialize
• Pushing myself out of my comfort zone feels easier
• Gaining a deeper understanding of my needs

Next week I’ll write a more in depth article about what slowing down means for me, how I’m planning to achieve it, and an actionable game plan for the short term.

In the meantime, let’s just be kind to ourselves and give ourselves the rest we’re so desperately needing.