If I could describe the season I'm currently in, it would be a season of doing less and trusting God more. I've always lived a pretty fast-paced life and never thought anything of it until I realized that all the overwhelm and anxiety I experienced around my day-day life was a result of the pace of my life. My life was moving at such a fast pace that it seemed to pass me by before I could actually enjoy it and I wanted to change that. In this blog post, I will be sharing some of the things I've found helpful in creating a slower pace of life.
1. Figuring out what living a slower pace of life means to me and why it's important to me.
The first step to creating that slower pace of life I wanted, was first identifying what that looked like for me and why creating a slower pace of life mattered to me. This helped me realize what I actually wanted:
less overwhelm and more peace,
less hustle and more freedom,
less over-achieving and more living in the present,
less task completing and more effective systems,
less chasing after goals and the bag and more gratitude and appreciation for the current season I'm in.
The theme I realized was more peace and being able to live in the present and enjoy each season of my life while I was living it. Then, I had to dig deeper and ask myself why this was important to me. As someone who struggles with anxiety, I've become more and more aware of the environmental factors that trigger my anxiety. Realizing how much a fast-paced life increased my anxiety helped me see that a key part in easing it, is slowing down the pace of my life.
So if you're someone who has been craving a slower pace of life, I would start here: Ask yourself what that would look like for you and why that is important to you?
2. Surrendering my life, my desires and my goals to God and letting Him take the wheels
A big part of my fast-paced lifestyle was me trying to be in control, not inviting God into my life and feeling like it was all up to me to make things happen. While that is partly true - I have to do my part in creating the life I want - I was trying to take on my part and God's as well. I was trying to control the "when" and the "how" and honestly it was exhausting, overwhelming and stressful.
Surrendering the control of my life to God has made slowing down so much easier and has been so much more impactful. I now realize that although I have to do my part in creating the life that I want, when I slow down, seek God and let Him guide my steps, my time is spent doing things effectively and not running in a hamster wheel trying to do it all. Understanding this - that it's not about doing it all, but doing the right things and leaning on God to discern what those things are- has played a key part in my ability to create a slower pace of life.
3. Sticking to 3 main priorities each day and considering everything else done a bonus
I'm a very task-oriented person and thrive off of getting things done. So much so however that I add too many tasks to my day and overbook myself. This leads to overwhelm, anxiety and stress every single day surrounding the things that I have to do. As I work on slowing down, the sweet spot that I've found to not overbooking myself has been sticking to 3 main priorities daily, being realistic about how long things will take me to do, breaking big tasks into smaller tasks and making those smaller tasks a part of my 3 daily priorities list, and considering everything beyond my 3 daily priorities that gets done a bonus for that day. It's also been helpful at the end of the day to acknowledge my wins for the day instead of what I used to do, which is focusing on what I didn't get done today. These practical things have made such an impact in my ability to create a slower pace of life.
4. Taking things one day at a time, one task at a time and one step a time A big part of my overwhelm I realized was trying to do too much at the same time. Getting an idea and wanting to speed up the process of going from idea to execution. But again, that rush led to nothing but overwhelm and anxiety, two things I was ready to limit in my life. So slowing down my pace and taking things one day at a time has meant breaking my ideas, projects, goals, etc. into small steps and being ok with everything not happening at once and not being done in one day. The instant gratification is gone but I now get a chance to enjoy the process, be more present throughout the journey and have more peace in my life.
5. Being intentional about making time for the things I enjoy A big part of wanting to create a slower pace of life has been so that I can be more present and enjoy the current seasons I'm living in. As I'm starting to free up more of my time, I'm making sure to be intentional to make time for the things I enjoy and spend time with my loved ones. Life is short and tomorrow is not promised. We know that and yet, slowing down and being intentional about living in the present can be so hard for us to do sometimes. So as I create this slower pace of life, I'm being intentional about making the time to live in the present, take in the current season I'm in, appreciate my surroundings and the people in my life and just overall live more in the current moment.
If you've been craving a slower pace of life, I hope these tips help you in your own journey and I pray this blog post spoke to you. If you haven't subscribed yet, make sure you're subscribed for new blog posts every week on navigating faith, life and entrepreneurship!
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