“Being the fastest, you win the competition, but by slowing down, you win the race that really matters.”

We all live in a society where busy life is the ideal all strive for. Being busy means you are active and productive.

But being busy and being productive are two very different things. Sometimes being busy can even damage your productivity.

Most people would choose the sense of being productive instead of actually producing something.

Being busy and living a life that makes you rush are one of the main causes that make your life miserable. Slowing down, often times, will make you 100 times more productive.

This is because when you slow down, you give yourself the necessary rest you need, you recharge and you start to see things clearly.

Where are you rushing toward?

Beware of the trap of a busy life!

When was the last time you had 1 hour to just be free?

No projects to finish, no “to do” tasks, no “clean the home, make lunch, buy groceries, see a friend, work on your self, exercise, read, watch the new TV Show, plan…”

No overthinking!

When was the last time you were just there, in the eternal present moment, just being alive?

If you are like most people, when you were 5 years of age was probably the last time you were there.

And then, you were launched by the “stay busy rocket” into orbit.

I did the same thing.

I was busy for 22 years.

I would organize my day to the freaking second and I would always keep myself busy, working on something.

If I had 30 minutes free time I would start to worry.

“Not a minute wasted!”

That’s how I was thinking!

And then, one day, I realized something out of nowhere.

I was 27 years old!

I didn’t have time to process 22 years as they were passing by.

Time felt like it fly by.

I realized that by trying not to waste a minute, I wasted 22 years!

I wasn’t living in the present, I was floating in my mind. Of course time would fly away.

You are not in time when you are in your mind, you are stretched between past, future and being busy.

You have no time to pause, look around, marvel the world you are part of. That’s how most people live.

That’s why time feels like it’s flying away for most, faster and faster, because they are less and less here and now, in the eternal present.

They are less in time and often out of time.

I don’t want you to be busy!

Do you know what is always in time?

The Present!

It has eternity!

You should slow down. Nothing is as important as this moment right now. Nothing else exists.

Look around you. See how blessed you are. Breathe into life. Be life. That’s why you are here for.

Not to finish your “to do” list flawlessly. But to be alive.

Take at least one day in your week to Slow Down.

Get away from Social Media, computers and TV.

Just be.

Walk around somewhere you haven’t been before, explore, try something new, sing, dance, play, live.

Expressing yourself is therapeutic. In fact, there is a whole therapeutic treatment model called Expressive Therapy, explained in this article by BetterHelp. The basic approach for this therapy is that each human being has an innate urge to create.

Being busy keeps you spinning in circles chasing your tail. Creating something, being actually productive can help you develop emotionally.