Have you heard of slow life? Very popular in recent years, the concept was born in the 80s. It is part of a phenomenon of rupture, against the current of fast-living, extravagance, permanent stimulation and excessive consumption. in which we live. Slow life literally means slowing down your life. Slow down, take the time to live, live at your own pace, say it how you want.
Slow life, what is it?
Living the slow life is above all refusing the current global belief that speed makes success inseparable from happiness. We want everything, right now, now. Both in our personal and professional lives. It is a fact. And, in general, it is not improving.
However, many studies in sociology now show that this injunction to constantly accelerate is harmful. We set ourselves an increasingly frenetic pace. A rhythm driven by infobesity, where we are constantly stimulated by a surplus of information. Over-information (sometimes also misinformation) always faster, unhealthy, stressful, polluting. Anyway, if these few lines sound strangely familiar to you, it's time to hit the pause button.
Because that's exactly the slow life: take a break, or at least slow down. Slow down to live more peacefully.
Slowing down, is it really possible?
To slow down ? But can we really afford this luxury? In a life where in a day we have to reconcile work, family, friends, manage daily life, etc.
Well for us it's simple. It's all about priority, organization, and willpower. It is clear that by not changing your habits, you will not be able to lead the slow life.
The slow life requires knowing how to let go, accepting that you can't keep control all the time. For us, the first step in slow life is to get rid of the guilt. Yes, not everything will be perfect, yes, not everything will be done immediately. But what good does it do.
The slow life to live happier?
Concretely, adopting the slow life means transforming your way of life so that your daily life is not synonymous with stress but quite the opposite.
Before that, you have to go through a small introspective phase. What environment do I live in? Does this suit me? What is my routine? Does it give me pleasure? Am I doing such and such a thing by machinery or by will? Here are a whole host of questions that can provide food for thought as to the turn that the term slow life takes for you.
Slow life is unique to everyone, to every home. It depends on our needs, our desires, our ambitions. It requires getting back to the basics of what really makes us happy. It is built over the long term, it is a balance that we seek to achieve.
Where to start ?
At Simple Things, one of our mantras: disconnect to better reconnect. This directly echoes the infobesity we mentioned earlier. We are constantly flipping through emails, messages, Instagram, Facebook, news, etc. Screens, social networks, continuous information (even if they are great working tools among other things, let's not be jargon) invade our daily lives and take up a disproportionate place. However, if one wants to aspire to more serenity and peace of mind, it is essential to know how to abandon them as much as possible.
In practice, you can define a screen-free time slot during which you decide to take time for yourself, to do something else. This does not necessarily mean doing nothing, but doing something that makes us feel good: reading, going for a walk, cooking, gardening, tinkering, meditating, etc. There are a thousand and one possibilities to enjoy yourself healthily and simply on a daily basis. And you will see, we are convinced, it is these simple little moments of pleasure where you take the time, every day, that will lead you to the much coveted happiness and fulfillment.
In the meantime, do not hesitate to share your thoughts with us in the comments section. 🤗