Admit it. If you’re living in the city or working in a fast-paced environment, it’s normal to end the day feeling exhausted. Yet when you reach home, there are household chores to finish, priorities that need to be invested in like relationships, personal growth, and side hustles. You need to have ounces of energy left to do these things before you hit the sack.
Truth is, in this day and age, when computers and electronic advances were meant to make things easier and faster, people are feeling more overwhelmed. We get too much information and too many distractions so we get comfortable with getting things done in an instant- instant messages, instant food, instant report, etc. While these are all good, we often times overlook the essential, the basics, the natural, the simple and the quiet.
I am living in this environment too and through time I have learned the value of slowing down. And by that I mean slowing down:
*the pace– focusing on what’s important
*the heartbeat– letting go of temper outbursts
*the talk– taking more time to listen and get into real, meaningful conversations
*the automatic defenses– to proact and not react
In the process, I have learned and practiced four maneuvers which allowed me to breeze through the day with ease and with a subdued feeling of being weightless. You can try them and see how it’ll give you more freedom- in mind, body, and soul.
1) Stop Complaining
Being a bystander won’t really accomplish you anything. You are not contributing and often disposed to either being critical or indifferent. Why not become part of a solution or be a champion of change? What if instead of bashing or blaming, you choose to help or fix things? We can all be more useful to the world by being more helpful and being more caring.
2) Focus and Let Go
You need to focus on things that you can actually do something about, and let go of those that you cannot control. At every point in our lives, we need not know or figure out all the answers before we act or do something. Else, you’d be stuck and end up seeing opportunities pass you by. Letting go also means you need to take calculated risks. Only the person who risks in life is truly free. (taken from a famous poem).
3) Forgive
It’s okay to fail if you do it “leaning” forward. Take one step at a time. For each step, even if you fall to the ground, take the lesson with you. Important things are, you grow and you keep growing. Don’t be too hard on yourself, so you don’t get too hard on other people too. When you are more accepting and forgiving of yourself, you become more accepting and forgiving towards others.
4) Restart
Each day is a new day. Don’t compete with anyone. Just be better than how you were yesterday. The thing of the past, is actually what it is. Today is another chance, and privilege to write another page in the story of your life. It’s a blank canvas. You can do anything. But fulfill something that you can really be proud of at the end of the day.
Life is short. We already know this but we keep living our lives as if our days are not numbered. So choose wisely and decide now how you want this journey to unfold. At the end of this race, you want to look back and feel glad about what you have accomplished. Make sure that what you do today, will someday make you feel proud.
“Dear future self, wherever and whenever, I want you to be pleased and really delighted when you think of me”.
Question:
Are you practicing a habit that helps you go through life with ease and more peace? What are those occasions that these habits helped you? I’d love to hear your story. Comment here.
sundaewrites 