In January, I competed in the Crossfit competition called "Wodapalooza". It was a 3 day competition, 2 workouts each day, and I could not be more excited and nervous about it. I had signed up for the competition in October, and after I found out about my mothers passing, I debated if I should even do it.
But of course I went forward, pushed through, didn't slow down, and did it anyway.
I had an amazing time, but it took an emotional toll on me afterwards, and I was forced to slow down.
During the VERY last 2 minutes of the entire competition, I got a little angry (ego getting in the way) and jumped down from a rope climb a little too hard, and BROKE my foot.
After months and months of training up 4 hours a day, now I had a broken foot and could not workout the way I wanted to.
Now looking back, it was one of the best thing that ever happened to me . It forced to me slow down, to spend more time at home, to shorten my workout times, and just be more present.
I was always on the go, because it was easier to deal with everything that way. But, you lose sight of a lot of things, and things tend to pile up too.
It took me a few weeks to realize this, but those few weeks helped me put things back into perspective for me.
Although these things seem like they may be minor, they were a big deal for me. I had more time to spend at home, which meant I can actually enjoy cooking something, without a rush. I can do some extra cleaning, organizing, and decluttering and not just worrying about work.
There are other many benefits to slowing down- having more creative thoughts, time for meditation, time to listen to interesting podcasts/interviews- things you actually enjoy doing!
When the world is telling you to slow down....listen. Don't push it away.
I used to laugh at the expression "less is more", and even though sometimes I still fight it, I understand it now.