Slow is the New Sustainable
Why I’m slowing down in life & business
“If you want something you’ve never had, you need to do something you’ve never done.”
A classic trope that has inspired me for years.
Do the things you aren’t doing now and you’ll have the life you want.
Start taking massive action and you’ll start seeing massive results.
But like many people, I often find that this massive energy push needed to become “that” person and do all those things feels pretty illusive.
I can spend late nights scrolling through TikTok watching inspirational moments of people finally changing their life.
Doing all those things to become the person they want to be.
In line with this phrase, I often hear “just work a little harder” in the back of my mind.
Push through.
Don’t stop.
You’re not consistent enough.
It’s because you keep giving up on yourself.
Even when I do find myself “doing it all” it only lasts for a short while and then I’m back… to a letdown that feels like a stark reminder of all of my insecurities.
Something changed recently.
I put all of the quotes and sayings aside and asked myself “do you really need to do something majorly different? Or do you just need to start taking smaller steps?”
What would change if your goal was actually to slow down?
To keep a sustainable pace and trust that changing your life for the better could be done in a way that doesn’t drain your energy…
What if you didn’t need to hype yourself up on motivation porn in order to take action?
What if you could actually make goals of doing less things and see a huge result in your wellbeing?
Personal development books and influencers tap in to our ego by making us think we are a lesser version of ourselves until we “choose” to be bigger, stronger, faster, and better than other people.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with striving to be more or wanting to improve yourself
But I no longer subscribe to the rituals and practices of “manifesting abundance” that are often built upon privileged spiritual circumstances.
What I mean is, I think feeling better, reaching the goals we want, and slowing down don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
I don’t think we have to rewire our entire brains, get into long bouts of meditation, or write for hours every morning to attain the life we’re seeking.
This isn’t a lazy way of thinking, but more so a gentle reminder that faster doesn’t always mean better and that a slower speed allows for glimpses out the window at the beauty of what we’re moving through.
More doesn’t always mean value.
Society tells us that we must work hard until we can’t anymore until the final moment, at the end, we can finally rest.
When I think it’s about time we allow ourselves to honor that slow is the new sustainable.
Slow doesn’t mean things won’t get difficult, slow doesn’t mean things won’t be challenging, what slow means is that you can take your time.
Slow means you don’t have to try to shift your entire life and routine in 24 hours to become the person you want to meet.
Slow means you can gradually and sustainably make shifts in your thoughts, habits, and actions that softly allow you to grow without draining your energy reserves or make you resent your new path.
By starting from where you are, by allowing yourself to move slowly, experiment with new actions, and build as you grow, you create a new foundation.
And as you grow slowly, you allow the room for yourself to feel comfortable, to keep going, and to see your progress as you make it.
This new type of self-navigation allows for more reflection, can help us adjust where we need to, and provides a humble reminder that we are no better than any other human simply because we are where we are.
If nothing else, I hope this post gives you the permission you might need to trust that you can change your life as much (or as little) as you’d like without hustling, without drastic changes overnight, without compromising your mental health, and by honoring your variable energy levels.
So what are the steps to starting slow?
Ask yourself the following questions:
How many of my desires to change are actually mine and not what I think I “should” want?
What is one tiny action I could start making daily that is both low effort and high output? (think actually drinking enough water)
What content might I need to unfollow or remove myself from that continues to push the narrative in my head that I’m not enough unless I work myself into despair and don’t keep moving at a fast pace?
Slow isn’t lazy. Slow is intentional.
Today is the day I start my Slow Plan and I invite you to come along.
I’ve made a short recording for you on this page here about this a little more and I invite you to take a listen.
