There has been one sentence I’ve been hearing quite a lot lately.
“Time is passing way too fast.”
Haven’t heard it only once, nor twice, but as it seems quite a lot of people over a certain age, over 45 or 50 but mostly over the age of 60, feel as if time has run through their fingers. In my experience, this particular feeling is usually accompanied by the feeling of regret.
“If I had only done it differently back then..” “If I were 20 again..”
A lot of “ifs”.
But fact is, we cannot turn back time. We cannot be 20 again.
And while I am still just at the age of 24, the thought of time just passing by, each year going by faster, possibly feeling regret, not using my time to the fullest.. it’s scary. It’s the fear of simply missing out.
Yet living in fear of missing out and getting older is not really the right solution.
How do we slow down time?
1. Focus on the moment
We spend a lot of time in the past. Or in the future. Yet we cannot change what happened, nor can we predict what will. What we can do is reflect to make the best out of today. So before you spend hours and hours debating on „What if I had done that” start redirecting your thoughts to “What have I learned from my experience, and what lesson could help me feel fulfilled today?”
Intentionally focusing on the “now” makes you slow down, makes you notice what is around you and what is missing. You start to feel with all your senses and feel more connected to your environment.
2. Kill monotomy
If every day feels the same, if your routine looks the same..just work, eat, sleep each day..it can do two things to us simultaneously: Making it feel as if time is never to pass, and also as if time is lost. When you haven’t used all your potential, or haven’t experienced all the possibilities and monotomy kicks in, chances of making monotomy a habit is pretty big.
A cycle that can be broken. Notice the pattern, and day by day choose to do one thing different. Open new doors.
3. Leave the comfort zone
Sometimes to be able to open new doors it’s necessary to do what feels uncomfortable. To me that would be being totally vulnerable and free to be myself around strangers. No need to tell them the whole story of my life, but that would be dancing in public, doing sports at the park, wearing a bikini with a bloated stomach, or laughing a bit louder than usually while engaging in a conversation. That would be going for a job I’ve never done, or pouring my mind into a blog post for everyone to read. That would be setting clear boundaries, even if that means losing people around you.
But am always grateful I have left my comfort zone, having worked on my anxieties. Looking back, my happiest moments were also the scariest, but the moments I spent in my comfort zone, to be completely honest, I cannot even recall.
4. Take care of your mental and physical health
Talking about happy moments. It is absolutely necessary to take care of your mental and physical health at all times. Never neglect yourself. Poor health in all forms can be a big time thief. We don’t choose health issues, and sadly there isn’t always a quick fix. Making sure we eat well, exercise enough but also take a good rest and choose the right surroundings could be a big part of prevention. In case we should already be dealing with certain issues, don’t be afraid to reach out for professional help, or maybe ask a good friend for advice. You never know who around you has already made the same or at least similar experiences.
Those would be my big four. What would you say could just as well slow down time in this fast moving world of ours?
To All My Muses 