Slow and steady keeps me sane.
Just the other day I was talking to a dear friend and fellow business owner about the crazy “modern life” race we’ve all seemed to enter ourselves in.
It goes something like this:
Wake up, jump/roll out of bed and slam into your day. Eat something. Rush around trying to get as much done as possible. Check Instagram. Compare yourself to others. Eat something. Attempt to check a few more things off your to-do list. Beat yourself up for something you’ve forgotten to do. Eat something. Check Instagram. Feel guilty for not getting enough done. Feel like you’re a barely passable human and most likely failing at most things. Check Instagram. Go to bed.
Of course there are moments of joy and fun in there but more often than not our modern day pace sets us up for feeling like we just never, ever are getting enough done. It’s like we’re always working from a deficit.
In other words, we never feel good enough and won’t let ourselves until we’ve somehow won the race.
My girlfriend and I chatted about this unique kind of modern torture and all the ways we both buy into it and inflict it upon ourselves. And then we talked about touching upon what’s beyond it.
“I’m finally realizing, after 7 years of busting my ass, freaking out and feeling like I was running out of time,” she said, “that there’s no end goal. I’ve always be hustling towards some arbitrary finish line and I’m just now getting that life’s really about making decisions based on what’s essential to me and enjoying the journey.”
A-F*CKING-MEN!
As it turns out, the only way to touch upon the presence, peace and steady power we want in our lives is to opt out of the “bigger, better, faster, stronger”, “If I’m not winning, I’m losing”, “I’m not doing enough,” modern-day narrative.
Let me clarify. Opting out doesn’t mean laying on the couch and doing nothing for the rest of your life. BORING. Changing the narrative means letting go of end goals. It means being proud of whatever effort you put in.
It means taking committed action without expectations.
One of the mantras I personally use and give to my clients to help them ease out of the modern-day pace and into their own flow is:
Slow and steady keeps me sane.
This mantra honors our need for forward motion and impact while also letting ourselves enjoy the journey. We get to do good work without it killing us. We get to feel productive and touch upon peace along the way.
Use this mantra every time you feel like life is racing out of control, like you’re never doing enough or that you simply need more hours in the day. Notice what it feels like in your body to slow down and be reminded that you can go at your own pace.
Sure the length of your to-do list may not change but how you approach it (and yourself) will, which makes all the difference.
If you enjoyed this post, please keep reading!
This conversation is between myself and an incredible woman named Ani, who shares how she learned how to be authentic, practice self-compassion, and take up space without guilt or shame through my 6-month group coaching program, Homecoming. Ani is a model for how to excavate internalized misogyny and live authentically without fear of others’ opinions. The conversation originally took place on podcast, The Path Home.