5 Ways to Slow Down When it Feels Like Life is Moving Too Fast
If you’re a parent and you’re anything like me, you look at your kids constantly and wonder, “Where did the time go?” My kids literally grow right in front of my eyes and I can’t help but think, “Where was I when this happened?” My oldest is turning 11 this year and the image of him in my head as a baby gets blurrier every year.
I swear my kids look a little bit older every day.
My heart aches when I realize I could’ve been more present or I should’ve taken them to the park all those times they asked, or the thing I hate to admit—how I should’ve given my attention to them instead of to my phone.
I know we all do it, I mean come on, no parent can be fully present 100% of the time, and any parent that says they are is either lying or a robot. We all need time to recharge our batteries and there is nothing wrong with that. What I’m talking about in this post is the moments we look up and can’t help but think that time is moving way too fast and something needs to change.
noticing how fast our kids grow is this reminder I think to be more present with them.
So how can we slow down when it feels like life is moving too fast? Well here are 5 things you can do right now that have worked for me.
Put your phone away. Life moves at the speed of light when we’re scrolling through social media and surfing the internet searching for information to absorb. It’s really that simple.
Let yourself be a kid again. Eat the pretend food, help your kids solve the puzzle, and play catch. When you take your kids to the park, go down that slide, play tag, and don’t even think about touching that lava. Kids naturally create an ease of being that adults kinda suck at. (At least I do.)
Let your kids make a mess and don’t clean it up right away. In fact, enjoy the mess with them, heck let yourself make a mess, then playfully make the act of cleaning a part of the game. There’s something in making a mess that is powerful in changing our perspective on life.
Go on walks. Getting away from any screens and moving your body outside is I swear probably one of the most underrated and healthy activities in the world. There’s something about walking under the big blue sky that is both grounding and humbling.
Practice conscious breathing. It’s a form of meditation, practicing mindfulness. Taking a couple minutes throughout the day to focus on just your breath lets you slow your thoughts down and brings you back into the present.
so there it is, 5 things you can do right now to help you slow down.
This list is by no means exhaustive, and I’m sure there are many other ways to slow down. I’d like to know, do you already do any of these things? Also is there anything you do differently that helps you to slow down when life feels like it’s moving too fast? If so, share it below!
