Why I Choose To Live A Slow Simple Life (Changing Your Perception)

And I often felt like no matter how much I accomplished, no matter how much I bought, I still was never satisfied. I could always buy more, I could always do more, no matter what I did. I was never going to be enough, and this was just a vicious cycle that at some point, it just needed to end for my own sanity. Over the past three years, I have been on a journey to adopt a more simplistic, intentional means of living, and this meant stripping down a lot of layers and letting go of a lot of notions that I had of what success really looks like, and understanding that there is actually a different perspective and way of living that aligns more with my values and is actually healthier for me as a person. The pace of life seems to be speeding up faster and faster as the weeks, the months, the years pass, and it can all start feeling like a big blur, with so much emphasis being on productivity, success, and the metrics that we have so much pressure from today's society. It really makes you question, is that all life is, a never-ending to-do list with numbers attached to our identity and value, how busy we can keep ourselves, how much we can accomplish in shorter amounts of times, always comparing ourselves to other people. And of course, that's not the value of us. We have so much more depth to us than just numbers and measurements. Until a few years ago, I was very consumed by this lifestyle where you had to hustle harder, work more, and your value was measured in how productive you could be, how much money you made, how much stuff you could purchase. And looking back now, I see that my perspectives were wrong, and I suffered from some health issues, some depression and anxiety by living this kind of lifestyle. It seems like no matter how much I worked, no matter how educated I became, no matter how much I bought, I wasn't finding the fulfillment that I was hoping for. It wasn't until I decided to let go of these ideals, okay, decided, it wasn't until I had to let go of these ideals that I really started to heal. I started shifting my mindset as I adopted this slow-living approach, and I started also practicing minimalism, where I felt like I needed way less stuff to be satisfied. I started reconnecting with my inner child, enjoying things that I used to love, and being honest with who I am instead of what I think society wants me to be. I was somebody who was very fast-paced, drinking very high amounts of stimulants, working full-time, going to college. I was pushing myself to the extreme because I just wanted to be successful. I wanted to buy more to prove my value to myself and to the world. And once I started letting go and really simplifying my life, I became so much more whole and happy with who I am. And that is so much to be said. To say that we are not just mere numbers, we are not measured by how many likes we get on social media, how much our income is per year, what our career is. We have a soul within us that needs to be fed with what we truly love and value in life. Slow living is about adopting a more intentional, simplistic means of the way we go about our daily life. It actually originated in Italy as a response to fast food industries. The word slow is actually an acronym for sustainable, local, organic, and whole, all of which directly correlate with a slower, more mindful lifestyle. This slow movement can actually be seen in a lot of different industries, such as slow food, slow fashion, and really just being very mindful and intentional about where we are shopping, what brands we are supporting, and really trying to support small, local brands that are environmentally friendly, put a lot of love and care into what they and kind of opting away from fast foods, fast fashion, and trying to support smaller, more intentional ways of going about our daily life. We are still encouraged to work hard and set goals and have dreams, but we also need to take time to rest and enjoy just more simple things in life, such as spending time in nature, connecting with people that mean the most to us, and taking time for ourselves to do things that we enjoy and practicing self-care while being intentional and sustainable with our purchasing and our buying habits as well. Even after three years of shifting my mindset and adopting a more simplistic way of life, I'm still evolving and having to find balance since life is ever-changing, but you start finding a healthy rhythm and it becomes much easier as you go. Of course, everyone's lifestyle and perspectives are very different. I wanted to share what has been helpful to me today with you. I have always valued and cherished my time alone. This is a time to reflect on what is important to you and really venture deeper into your feelings and figure out how you're feeling, what you're feeling, what you need to work on. It's a time to connect with yourself and hear your own voice without any outside noise skewing your judgment or perceptions. This is a time for you to explore who you truly are and what matters most to you. It's also a time of peace where you can spend time working on some of your favorite hobbies and do things that you enjoy without any kind of outside judgment or criticism from others. My next tip is to stop comparing yourself to everyone else. With the whole world at our fingertips through social media, we are comparing ourselves more than ever. We directly link our identity and value based on our looks, our success, our metrics to where we feel like we can never measure up or become consumed by constantly comparing our beings to everybody else. It is so important not to get lost in the game of comparing or the way society views us. We are so much more than just a number or the opinions of everybody else. We really need to embrace and cherish our own reality and understand that at the end of the day, we are responsible for our own happiness and making good decisions for ourselves. And the more that we start romanticizing and loving our own life, the happier we will be. It's important to enjoy and fully embrace your own journey instead of worrying and racing against everyone else's. Set your own goals and follow your own path without comparison. It's not a race, it's a journey and everybody's journey is beautiful and unique. Tip number three is to start minimizing your to-do list. I know this may sound scary or mind-blowing to begin with, but as you start doing it, it actually becomes a lot easier. This really helps shift your mindset into always feeling like you need to be busy or your identity or value is strictly based on how much you can accomplish in a day. I can confidently say this one because I was always somebody with a mile-long to-do list with never enough time in a day, always stressing out about not having enough time, letting others down, people-pleasing, and losing myself along the way. But as I started letting go of some of the things that weren't as important like painting the walls, yes, I want the walls painted, but it's not something that has to be done. Something that has to be done is getting my orders out on time and making sure my kids are happy and taking care of myself comes above all the other more superficial things. I hope you guys enjoyed today's video. I really appreciate you watching it. This is something very near and dear to my heart. It has been a complete lifestyle change for me, something that was much needed, so I really appreciate your time and I would really love it if you could like this video and subscribe to my channel. I make videos about intentional, slow-living, minimalism, and lifestyle, and I would absolutely love to have you join me, but until my next video, I hope that you take care and I'll see you next time. Bye!