Get Ahead By Slowing Down

Take your time, slow down and don’t let your life rush past you! Simply because we are living in a fast world which is reinventing itself every few minutes. Hence it’s quite easy to slip into the madness without even noticing. But don’t let them fool you. Be sure you don’t lose yourself in the process.

Here are a few recommendations for creating a meaningful space of your own in life.

Go for quality, not quantity

Living life slowly in practice means there’s no use in going out for 10 coffees with your friends each day in order to catch up. Instead, go for one or two and then enjoy those moments as much as you can and have a deep and meaningful conversation.

Once, a friend of mine said to me that the times when she felt the happiest was when she was traveling, mainly because that’s when she had no worries, no stress, and no problems. But every time she got back from a holiday, there it all was again. It was like she became a whole different person!

So I asked her if she was really willing to sacrifice her natural and inner joy because of her routine and activities. You see happiness is not conditional. You make it. That’s how she decided to live her everyday life while seeking to remain in that state of enjoying each moment.

Here’s my post about traveling alone and how nice it can be for you.

Live slowly and create genuine relationships

Living slowly also brings creating meaningful relationships when you network. Don’t go just for the number. For example: you go to a conference and you bring back 500 cards from people. It’s quite probable you won’t even remember all of them! It’s much better to make even five real and deep connections.

In many ways, social media has taught us to think that numbers are important. But this is not true. At the end of the day, you can’t talk to a number. What’s truly meaningful about the internet is that, behind the screens, we are all just normal people seeking genuine human relations.

And same goes for everything else.

Take your time.

Honestly, what’s the rush? There’s a time and a place for everything. When you are by yourself, delight in your peace of mind. Listen to your inner dialogue; breath.

Cherish the little moments with your friends, with your pets, with your loved ones, with your family, children, etc.

Always give your best

So, this is today’s lesson: Whatever you do, do it good. 

Don’t put only 50% in it. Always, always, always give your best. You’ll find out that, sooner or later, this is how cool things come to your life. It may take some time, but it will be rewarding at the end.

And actually, this is where the Slow Movement comes from. I don’t know if you had heard this term before, but I rather think it is a nice concept:

The Slow Philosophy is not about doing everything at a snail’s pace. It’s about seeking to do everything at the right speed. Savoring the hours and minutes rather than just counting them; doing everything as well as possible, instead of as fast as possible. It’s about quality over quantity in everything from work to food to parenting.” —Reda

Want to read more advice from an experienced Fail Coach? Then browse through our categories Life Coaching, Real Life Stories and Business Failure and take a day off, because you’ll find plenty of interesting reading material.