How To Live a Slower Paced Life

Every time I travel to Europe, I fall in love with their culture. The easy, slow-paced living is my dream. Despite all my “career-forward” thinking and wanting to achieve many things, my dream is to live slow. To live in a small town, where you can walk to the nearest coffee shop and being a “regular” seems magical. Yet, every time I make it back to the USA I get immersed into this fast-paced, never off work mentality that we are all into and to not fall to side, we follow.

This last trip to Europe though, I committed to my thoughts. I was already reading the book by Gabby Bernstein, “The Universe Has Your Back” and in it, she reinforces the power of our thoughts and the greater power they have when we vocalize them (here’s a post we wrote about the book) When I got back to USA, I told my best friend (who lives in Amsterdam), “I want to learn to live slow.” – I don’t think I’ve mastered the art of living slow but I for sure have made some progress. Here are some things I’ve put into place in my everyday to help me:

Listen to instrumental music in the mornings: There’s a station on Pandora called “Instrumental Chill Radio” that I play in the mornings when I’m getting ready to start my day. Sometimes, when I have to drive early in the morning I play it in the car because the tunes on the playlist are easy going and they make you feel calm as you ease into your day.
Drive slow: Life in the USA is a bit hectic – we never seem to have time and we are running around like we are VERY important trying to get to our next meeting, event, appointment, whatever. Well, I made it a point to stop rushing. Unless I’m EXTREMELY late do I speed. Other than that, I’m consciously driving to my destination.
Don’t talk on the phone while driving: Another thing I don’t like is being on the phone while driving because you are distracted. You get to your destination and don’t even know how you got there; has this happened to you??
- Also, if you are talking on the phone while driving, you are not focusing 100% on what you are saying.
Cook more: I love cooking nights with Luis (my boyfriend) and I wish we did more of it. Cooking, instead of eating out in a restaurant is much more special. You actually bond, instead of just getting drinks and eating. Cooking a nice meal can take up to an hour, so this is great time for music, some wine, talking and dancing.
Spend less: Cooking more will save you $$$ every month which goes right into spending less. The less you spend, the less you need on a monthly basis, the happier you will be. If you focus every month on all the things you want and keep adding up debt to your credit card, your peace of mind will not be there. Give yourself a weekly budget and try really hard to maintain it. You’ll notice the difference at the end of the month.

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Some things I want to work more on:

Stop comparing myself to others
Waking up at the same time every morning (if you follow me on instagram, you have seen my struggle)

And you? Is living a slower paced life something you struggle with? Is it something you want? Leave me your thoughts below or email me at ahintoflifeblog (at) gmail .com

If it’s something you want, make sure to read this book. It will teach you so much about being in the moment.