Let's face it, we live in a fast paced world and it's easy to get caught up in the rush. When we do this we find that we live our lives on auto pilot. We just go from one task to the next with the never ending to do list. Do you find that you often feel overwhelmed or stressed? Slowing down and living your life with intention can offer many benefits for our physical, mental, and emotional well being. Here are some of the reasons you should consider slowing down and living life with more intention.
Physical Benefits
When you slow down and live life with more intention, this can have a huge positive impact on your physical health. Slowing down allows your body to relax and recover from the everyday stresses. All stresses will live in your cells, and when we don't allow our body to relax, this will build up inside. Do you find you get sick a lot? Do you have physical ailments or aches and pains that aren't attributed to an injury? This is stress in your body.
When you allow your body to relax (and no sleeping doesn't count as physical relaxation) it will provide great benefits. You will see a reduction in blood pressure, reduced physical tension, and improved sleep. Taking care of yourself in this way also involves preparing healthy meals for you and your family and regular exercise. Fast food and processed food is so unhealthy. In the long run you aren't doing yourself any favors with your health when you don't take the time to prepare simple healthy meals. Most of the time you can make a tasty and healthy meal in about 30 minutes.
Mental Benefits
Slowing down has great benefits for mental health. When you live with intention you can reduce anxiety and stress. Living in the present moment can help you let go of worries of the future or regrets about the past. Raise your hand if your mind races about I have to do this tomorrow, this next week, next month is this until before you know it you are looking at the entire year ahead of you. This causes a lot of stress and anxiety. Sure we need to be aware of what's happening in the future, but we can't do any of it yet can we. Only what is happening right now is what we should focus on. Living in the present. The next day will be tomorrow. It's not tomorrow, it's today so let's live here right now.
You may find once you slow down that you have more time to reflect on your thoughts and your feelings. This can bring you clarity and understanding. You may be amazed about what you find out about yourself or your feelings when you do this.
Emotional Benefits
We can't forget about the emotional benefits you receive when you slow down and live with intention. When you slow down, you can better connect with your emotions and cultivate a greater sense of self-awareness. This is so important because it can give you greater emotional resilience and give you the ability to cope with difficult situations. When your mental and emotional health are impaired, it can be so easy to dive off the cliff when something difficult happens. This turns into a whole cycle that will then affect your physical health.
Another great benefit that we seem to take for granted is that it can also help you deepen your connection with others. How many times do you get so caught up in yourself that you neglect the people that mean a lot to you? You will often hear people say I haven't talked to so and so for so long because I just can't find the time. Is it really that you can't find the time or are you making the choice to not live in the present. Our priorities tend to get skewed without realizing it. Sadly we realize when it's too late that we shouldn't have waited so long to connect with that person. Time is so short on this earth. We try to fool ourselves that we have plenty of time but we don't. Think for a moment how fast 20 years went by.
Overall, slowing down and living a more intentional life can offer numerous benefits for your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. By intentionally focusing on the present moment, you can reduce stress and anxiety, improve your physical health, and emotional health. You may even notice things around you that you never noticed before! I guarantee you won't look back on your life at the end and say I'm so glad I lived in a whirlwind. I'm so glad I never took the time to notice all the beauty around me. If you practice more intention and slow down, when the time comes you will look back and be happy and grateful for the things you had time for, the relationships that didn't get neglected, and all the beauty that you took the time to notice every day.
At Simple Joy Box our goal is to help people reconnect with what matters most in life and to find joy in the everyday. Each month we curate an experience that helps you de-stress, slow down, and appreciate the simple things in life. Even the most ordinary moments can be transformed into something special with the right mindset and a few thoughtful touches. We make the ordinary extraordinary!
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