Currently, there is this very dominant hustle culture in our society, right? Being busy, working extremely hard, and neglecting our health because of that, are almost admired and appreciated, while it’s super toxic behavior.

People tend to brag about how busy they are and how little time they have for themselves in order to seek validation from others, with a huge plague of burn-outs as a consequence…

And to be completely honest with you, I’ve definitely been there too. And looking back, it’s actually kind of funny, because it really doesn’t make any sense at all, right? Being proud of neglecting your sleep, your family, and even your own health…

That’s why I wanted to talk about something that I’m trying to introduce more of in my life and business: the art of slow living.

Related Reads:

• How To Set Healthy Boundaries As A Solopreneur
• Why working long hours isn’t the answer to productivity
• How To Practice More Self Love & Self Compassion As A Solopreneur
• How to Create a Balanced Life

The Subtle Art Of Slow Living

What is slow living?

Slow living is all about introducing this spaciousness in your life.

• The space to actually be able to connect with yourself and be truly present.
• The space to be able to genuinely enjoy the moment.
• The space to do literarily nothing and be completely ok with that.
• The space to be able to engage in activities that you genuinely feel curious and inspired about.
• The space to just live in a much more spontaneous way.

And all of this is such a huge contrast, in comparison to how many of us live on a day-to-day basis (including me in the past):

• Functioning on autopilot ALL the time.
• Always thinking about the next thing to do, or the next problem to solve.
• Feeling this compulsive need to be working all the time.
• Completely missing out the beauty of the moment that you’re currently living, because you’re too busy thinking about the future.
• Being so disconnected with yourself, that you are unaware of your body sensations, and even sometimes your basic needs, because you are not really living in your body, you’re just living in your mind.

So how can we introduce this in our life and business?

I think the first step is to question and challenge all these should’s and have to’s that your mind is telling you all the time.

Do you really need to finish this task today? Who is telling you this? Why does it have to be finished today? What happens if you don’t do it today? Do YOU want to do this, because you genuinely feel inspired too? Or just because you feel like you have to?

Something else I think is absolutely essential, is to let yourself rest and recharge. And by that, I mean genuinely give yourself a break every once in a while.

When was the last time that you did absolutely nothing?

Because in most families, weekends and days off are for laundry, deep cleaning, running all the errands, grocery shopping, and all the other things, right?

And I know exactly what you’re going to say right now. :-). You’re going to say, do you know how much stuff I need to do. The house won’t get cleaned by itself, and I have children to take care of.

But what if you drop off your kids with a friend or your grandparents, even if it is for a few hours, so you can take the time to breathe. And no, that’s not even a luxury, that is a necessity. Because reminder, you’re human and your body isn’t made to be “on” ALL the time.

So allow yourself to genuinely relax and recharge, and at first, you might feel extremely uncomfortable and even guilty. You might feel this powerful urge to get up and get work done. But just let these compulsive thoughts go, don’t let yourself get carried away by THEM, but for once just be present at the moment, and focus on the sensations that you feel in your body.

And if your mind is just too busy and keeps distracting yourself, then put these thoughts on paper, reflect on them and then let them go.

You will be astonished how free and relieved you will feel for once, not being as consumed by your busy mind all the time, and just surrender and embrace this spaciousness.

And that’s in a nutshell the art of slow living.

Related Reads:

• How To Set Healthy Boundaries As A Solopreneur
• Why working long hours isn’t the answer to productivity
• How To Practice More Self Love & Self Compassion As A Solopreneur
• How to Create a Balanced Life

Let’s Chat!

Do you believe in the importance of slow living? Let me know in the comments down below.