Slowing Down: 3 Ways To Revel in Today

By Cat Li Stevenson

"There is more to life than increasing its speed." ~Ghandi

I was raised on competition and excelling. I learned to walk at 10 months, read at age 4, and started taking piano lessons at the same time. By the time I was 7, I was performing at the local university gamage in front of hundreds of people. I also grew up attending 2 schools: the typical American School and then Chinese Linguistic School every Sunday. Here, I competed in linguistic competitions, Chinese chess, and served as student body president for one year. These were only some of the extra-curricular activities that I participated in; sprinkled between my childhood and adolescent years were also weekly private writing lessons, "super workbooks" I completed every summer for the coming grade, and being a straight A student.

From age 4 until I graduated from college 6 years ago, life was pretty easy: it was a road map of one grade leading to the next and one accomplishment proceeding the other. Then I grew up.

I remember graduating college and self-diagnosing myself with "post-college trauma." The real world just wasn't all that I had made it out to be. Somewhere along the path of constantly achieving, my teachers failed to mention that there would not always be a destination attached to every activity. Outside of perfecting a Mozart piece, writing an essay for a competition, and taking final exams, there lied a world that was foreign to me. A world where apparently one could find the most contentment in existing in the present moment without looking forward all the time.

In my previous post, I listed ways of how we could open our eyes to the world as we know it today. While slowing down my forward looking desire remains a tremendous challenge, I have offered a few survival tips on how we can savor a mapless road, how to enjoy the journey, and just for a moment, take our eyes off of the destination.

1. Recognize mini-successes

Our days are filled with accomplishments that we should be proud of. Become aware of the transformations and successes that happen everyday. Instead of reaching for the to-do list and filling the paper with tasks, try writing down all the accomplishments you've had for that month. My aunt bought me a a beautiful, leather 2010 planner for Christmas last year that I use to track my accomplishments. The space in the front of the planner that should be used to keep track of appointments, I instead utilize it to write down all the mini-successes I have achieved. Many of them are simple, such as a new perspective I gained one day by observing a kind man at the movie theater.

2. Get lost in music

My sister recently worked at a less than glamorous job in a call center. She dreaded stepping foot in the call center...and the way she energized herself was to crank the music in her car and jam out before starting her day. There are days where we can't help but look ahead, as our current situation seems to feel dull or stagnant. It's moments like these that we must acknowledge that it is a stepping stone, a temporary state, which we are meant to experience in order to embrace future events. For now, listen to that favorite song on your Ipod, sing at the top of your lungs, get lost in the moment, and let it carry you effortlessly to the next.

3. Let go

The fixation we have on the destination is one that we have been accustomed to by society conditioning. I am a runner and take jogs on the canal behind our home several days a week, in preparation for ongoing races that my husband and I enjoy participating in. In the beginning of my training, I would count down the miles backwards and envision the finishing point during the entire jog. This year, I decided to shift my mentality, unplug from the Ipod, and take in the scenery around me. By letting go of my attachment to the finish line and music that I felt created my experience, I was able to feel the dirt underneath my shoes, and appreciate the scenic nature I often neglected to notice before. It's still easier to let my mind wander to the finish line, but when I let go without the expectations, the world appears softer, gentler, and more alive.

How do you slow down to detach from the destination? Perhaps closing your eyes and feeling your breath in the wind? Or unplugging from all technology to rejuvenate your mind on what exists outside of a multi-tasking day? Or maybe just sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee, reveling in today by simply acknowledging how far you've come to be who and where you are.