My slow awakening

There wasn’t one grand epiphany that led me to create Slow & Steady. No burnout. No drastic life change. Just a deep sense that I wasn’t living a life that truly felt like me. Slow & Steady started as my personal creative outlet. I started writing as a way for me to make sense of the fast-paced world and feel a little less out of place. Around my 30th birthday, something clicked. I realized I had spent most of my three decades trying to catch up. To what, exactly?

For many, turning 30 is a milestone — a time to have it all “figured out.” The house. The five-year plan. The big life goals. I have none of those. And strangely enough, it felt really good. I’m happy with my apartment in the woods, I have time and space to honor my curiosities instead of a rigid societal timeline, and I live for the small joys.

Now I’m reclaiming my place. I’ve made peace with the fact that the fast-paced life isn’t for me. But what strikes me is how much the fast-paced life is costing all of us. The world bombards you with messages to do more, be more, earn more. But on a hedonic treadmill, you never stop running. It’s exhausting - and it shows. Burnout rates are at an all-time high. It’s not a coincidence that autoimmune diseases have increased along with stress. How is it possible that we’re living in a time where it’s easier than ever to connect with people, yet reports of loneliness are skyrocketing?

So I’m not buying the ‘‘grind’’ narrative anymore. We need to unwind. Stop listening to the ‘‘mundane Mondays and TGIF’’ narratives. You don’t have to wait for Friday. Or for the holidays.

Life is now.