Slow down

Day 361 / 365

You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.

This year I had gotten into a habit of getting up early, around 5 AM. But for the past week or so I was falling behind on that habit, sleeping past 7 or 8 each day. This was partly due to stress, partly due to the fact that I was having much busier nights due to the increased workload.

When I woke up late today I realized how pissed off I was at myself for losing out the productive morning hours, and that I would be late at everything for the rest of the day. I had been waking up pissed off for a while now, but I finally realized how stupid that was. So I ditched the work and spent an hour listening to music and watching youtube. And I can safely say that helped reduce my stress levels for the rest of the day.

I know many other people lead lives like this. Starting work as soon as the wake-up, and stopping only to sleep and eat. What you don’t realize is that most of the time you are not actually in control of your day. You are just reacting to whatever’s coming your way, trying to get as much done as possible.

The biggest factor that affects someone’s happiness is how much control they have over their life. By slowing down voluntarily every once in a while, you reassure your brain that you are still in charge. Sure, things might be looking bad now, but you can always stop and take time for yourselves.

No one can be so busy not to able to go for a morning walk each day. And I don’t think there’s a better way to symbolically slow things down for yourselves then to spend a half-hour each morning just walking outside. For this half-hour, you’ve got nothing to achieve, no expectations to meet, no fear of disappointing anybody. It’s just you walking. Maybe that could be my resolution for 2020.

This post is part of my 365 Day Project for 2019. Read about it here

Yesterday’s blog — Be proud of your silent achievements