Benefits of Slowing Down

We live in a world where everything needs to happen now. With so many demands being placed on us from business, from ourselves, and from others, slowing down for a second can be a wonderful thing. This skill, though it may seem counter to our modern pace, is surprisingly useful in managing stress. It may sound strange to want to slow down when so often we are rushing around in the world. The truth is that by slowing us down, our ability to accomplish less but do it more deliberately can improve everything in our lives including stress levels.

The reason to slow down is not just that it will help you focus. It is also that it will give you more time. Time flies, they say. But when you look at your life, you might feel that time crawls or doesn’t move at all. If you have been in a hurry for a long time, it may be difficult to believe that slowing down can improve your life. But it will. The way most people live, most of the things they want to do require money or other resources they don’t have. You can get more resources by working, but if you work all the time, there is never any time to use those resources on anything else.

One of the most important benefits of taking your time is that you have the opportunity to savor experiences. Many people live life in a hurry, thinking they are getting more done. But in reality, they are missing out on many memorable moments. Moments can be so special when you take your time to appreciate them. One reason why people rush through life is that they want everything to happen now. They tell themselves they’ll relax and enjoy things later, but somehow later never comes. Unless you’ve slowed down to enjoy it, how can you tell that a meal is really delicious, or that a book is a treasure, or that a friendship is special? When you’re in a rush, you’re focused on the next thing. When you’ve slowed down, you’re in the moment. And when you’re in the moment, that’s where you’ll find pleasure and meaning.

The present moment is all you ever have. But our minds don’t work that way. They take up a lot of space with replays of the past and worries about the future. It’s as if we were wearing life jackets that inflate so that we are constantly floating five feet above where we actually are. Life is a gift. We have no idea when it begins, and we have no idea when it ends. It is right now, and right now is all we have. This moment is as good as any other to begin slowing down. In fact, it’s a perfect time, as there is no better moment than now to be here now.

When you slow down, you gain control over your focus and can choose where to put it. And when you do put it somewhere — even if it’s just for a few minutes —you have a chance to appreciate the moment for what it is, rather than racing past it into the next thing that’s going to happen before you have a chance to understand how this thing feels.