Slow down the rhythm of life to enjoy it

Is there a way to slow down in a world that is obsessed with speed and action? Canadian journalist Carl Honore is looking for the answer to this question in his book No Fuss: How to Stop Hurrying and Start Living. Tired of the constant rush that leads to stress, he discovered the Slow Life movement (from English – “slow life”).

His followers live at their own pace. And from this they did not become less successful, active or in demand. On the contrary, many felt happy for the first time in many years. After all, slower does not always mean worse. To understand this, it is enough to slow down at least in several areas of life.

Slow Food or slow food

We are used to snacking on fast food on the run, eating a business lunch in a cafe in 15 minutes and buying ready-made meals for dinner. Do we enjoy this kind of food? No. Favor? Much less than cooked at home and eaten at a relaxed pace. “Of course, it is impossible to turn every meal into a four-hour feast,” writes Carl Honoré. – We live in an age of speed, and sometimes there is no other choice but to eat fast food. Sometimes you need to catch a sandwich on the run so as not to fall off.

And yet, only by focusing on food, you can taste it and enjoy it. Therefore, at least a couple of times a week it is worth gathering with relatives and friends at the family table to chat and enjoy delicious homemade food. Do not perceive its preparation as a long and hard work. This is creativity and a way of self-expression! In addition, during the time that you are waiting for the delivery of pizza, you can cook a healthy dinner.

slow fitness

Lose weight for the summer, build muscle in two weeks, prepare for a marathon in a month. Even in the matter of improving our own body, we set ourselves almost unrealistic goals. As a result, we train 7 days a week to exhaustion. Is this really the only way to get fit? No. “In Asia, hundreds of years ago, systems of exercises were developed, which are based on slow movement and mental balance. Obviously, this is more useful than shedding liters of sweat on the simulators, ”writes Carl Honore.

By Eastern methods, he means yoga and qigong. They don’t promise you a steel abs in two weeks, but after a few sessions, you will definitely feel better and calmer. And sports results will also come with time. For those who like to “sip iron”, there is a new fitness direction SuperSlow – super-slow weight lifting. So, during traditional training, 6 seconds are allotted for raising and lowering the barbell, and 20 in SuperSlow. This approach turns out to be even more effective and less traumatic.

slow sex

Foreplay, gentle touches, intimate massage – no rush and fuss in the bedroom. Slow sex brings much more joy to both partners. Carl Honore encourages everyone to bring elements of tantric sex into their intimate sphere. It opens previously unknown depths of sensuality and creates special relationships. For example, tantra teaches each time to study the body of a partner, as for the first time – knees, calves, ankles, feet, shoulders, back of the head, chin. Worth a try – it can be very sensual and pleasant.

Slow work

It is generally accepted that the best employees are workaholics who spend more than 10 hours in the office and answer work emails at any time of the day. “Thanks to new technologies, work has penetrated into all corners of our lives. In the age of instantaneous information dissemination, there is nowhere to hide from emails, faxes and calls. This leads to constant stress, we can no longer rejoice either in our achievements or in the success of our colleagues. We begin to slowly hate our work and do it worse.

Research shows that employees who work fewer hours are more productive than those who work more than 40 hours a week. That is, working less means working better. Many experts have already caught this trend. “Recruiters are increasingly reporting that job seekers are asking questions that would have seemed unthinkable 10 or 15 years ago: “Will I be able to leave work early? Is it possible to increase the vacation instead of the bonus? Will I have the right to allocate working hours myself? In almost every interview, the same thought is heard: people want to work, but they also want to live,” writes Carl Honore.

At the same time, by rest they mean not sitting in front of the TV, but time devoted to their favorite hobby, meeting friends, traveling, etc. As a result, such workers are not under stress and do not experience chronic fatigue. This means that they perform their duties better.