Real Talk
Slowing Down Can Get You Places Faster
It’s better to be slow and alive than fast and burned out.
As if we’re always chasing something, everything on our to-do list has the same level of urgency. It’s the kind of urgency that nags us, “If you don’t do this now, this will fall apart!” And even though we finish that task, the list seems so endless and overwhelming. The struggle is real and we often see it in our working kids or sometimes, we feel it ourselves. But we’re too terrified to slow down for fear of “losing our rhythm” or being unable to catch up.
Why do we find it so difficult?
In a world that glorifies the “early bird gets the worm” saying, we try to always be the “early bird”. As parents, we sometimes also apply it to our parenting. We get anxious when our kids aren’t following the textbook developmental milestones (i.e. reading, walking, writing). It’s why we get angry at our kids when they look like they don’t understand their Math homework, too. It’s easy for us to feel insecure by the speed of others that slowing down just vanishes from our vocabulary.
Because of this, we’re constantly anxious. We become “reactive” than “proactive”. Our decision-making becomes fully centered on the question: “What’s happening?”, “What’s next?” Or worse, “What now?” While we praise the ability to anticipate and be fully prepared, it comes to the point that we start considering all the possibilities. Including the ones that don’t make sense!
But sometimes, slowing down gets us to places faster.
While it appears to give us a better sense of control, it eventually gets mentally taxing. We start burning out, losing our motivation to do anything, and in the worst-case scenario: losing our grip on reality. It’s why sometimes, we need to slow down. But slowing down doesn’t mean dropping everything. It means taking back your control to continue moving at a speed you’re comfortable with. With Conscious Alchemy’s Free Webinar’s “Slow Down to Speed Up: A Conscious Alchemy Webinar for Leaders.”, we revisit the idea of slowing down and differentiate slowing down from giving up.
After all, it’s a lot better to be slow and alive than fast and burned out.
More about wellness:
Candy Drilon-Dalman on The Importance of Health and Wellness and Making Things Grow
Mental Health and Filipino Families: We Need To Talk
How Jerika Ejercito Overcame Depression
