4 Reasons to Embrace Slow Living through Minimalism

4 Reasons to Embrace Slow Living through Minimalism

The speed of my life has decelerated recently. Our fifth baby was born two weeks ago—in the middle of the biggest blizzard our city has had in three decades.

Her birth story included an precarious ambulance ride over unplowed back roads from our snowed-in home to the hospital. We arrived just in time to welcome little Evelyn into the world.

While recovering in the hospital, I had this sudden feeling that life had paused. It was a welcomed feeling, one that, once I tasted it, I knew I wanted more.

Later that day, I came across a quote that summed up my sentiments:

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

While I’ve still never seen the 1980s movie about Ferris Bueller’s day off, I’d read those words before. But this time they hit me in a novel way.

Stop and look around. Life moves fast. You could miss it.

Sounds countercultural, doesn’t it? We live in a high-speed society that glorifies “doing.” An underlying sense of urgency has been normalized. Claiming busyness has become a merit badge. Before minimalism, I lived this life of chronic doing and striving.

It wasn’t until I began questioning my possessions and let go of 75% of them, that I also began questioning the pace of my life. The “less is more” mindset of minimalism also applied to my to-do list, my number of commitments, and the overall speed I chose to move through life.

Embracing slow living through the “lens of less” meant less rushing, less hurry, less time spent on the frivolous and the unimportant.

Minimalism gave me space to realize that if lived in constant motion, I was glossing over the moments in my life that mattered.

Meaningful moments are best soaked in through life’s pauses. But how do we regain presence and slow down the seemingly ever-surging current of life?

Bueller’s solution to slowing down is a simple one: take a day off.

Studies show that people who take a day off a week:

• Live 10 years longer than the average American.
• Have better mental and physical health.
• Demonstrate increased productivity at work.
• Report better sleep and lower stress levels.
• Show improved short-term memory.
• Display more creative breakthroughs.

While taking a day off isn’t the only way to slow down, clearly Bueller was onto something. 

And those who embrace slow living through minimalism by letting go of a pace that doesn’t serve them, are too.

Those slow days in the hospital reminded me of the need to declutter any existing hurry, rushing, or trivial “to-do’s” from my life.

In my experience, several life-giving things happen when you do.

Here are 4 reasons to embrace slow living through minimalism:

1. You regain perspective 

Many of us, when asked how life’s going, habitually respond “busy.” Before living as a minimalist, this used to be my go-to answer, no question. “Busy,” I thought, alluded to my productivity and success. But “busy” made me feel overwhelmed and exhausted.

Minimalism made space for introspection. I soon realized that saying yes to everything, chasing distractions, and trying to do it all left little energy to focus on what mattered.

Slowing down builds space in your life to regain perspective and refocus on what’s most important. You reflect on how you’re using your time, and if your actions don’t align with your values, you course correct until they do.

Marc Chernoff said, “Ten years from now it won’t really matter what shoes you wore today, how your hair looked, or what brand of clothes you wore. What will matter is how you lived, how you loved, and what you learned along the way.” 

Is your current focus on the things that matter? 

2. You become more grateful 

If we’re living life on overdrive, it’s easy to lose our sense of gratitude. When our mind is focused on conquering our next five to-dos, we’re looking forward instead of anchored in the present. 

Gratitude is best experienced in the present moment. When we value time as our greatest resource, we can intentionally slow it down. Pausing brings the gifts of ordinary life into focus. And soon, we realize how rich our lives actually are.

In Wayne Muller’s book Sabbath, he said, “What if we were to expand our definition of wealth to include those things that grow only in time—time to walk in the park, time to take a nap, time to play with children, to read a good book, to dance, to put our hands in the garden, to cook playful meals with friends, to paint, to sing, to meditate, to keep a journal. What if we were to live, even for a few hours, without spending money, cultivating time instead as our most precious resource?”

What makes your life rich? Do you make time to regularly express gratitude for those things?

3. Your relationships improve

Busyness often prioritizes accomplishments and checklists over people. Slow living makes space for relationships, which thrive on quality time. 

Imagine being the type of person who really knew the people around you—because you asked intentional questions, made the time to listen, and noted the details of their lives. Using minimalism’s “less is more” mindset to declutter your schedule and slow down gives you space and energy to invest in the lives of others in this way.

In Greg McKeown’s book Essentialism, he said, “What if we stopped celebrating being busy as a measurement of importance? What if instead we celebrated how much time we had spent listening, pondering, meditating, and enjoying time with the most important people in our lives?”

How could slowing down improve your relationships?

4. You reduce escapism 

When busyness is our default mode, something is often neglected. We can’t do it all, nor are we called to. Often, our own needs get pushed by the wayside, either because we don’t make time to meet them or we are simply out of touch with what they are. This can lead to escape behaviors (or even illness).

How do you distract yourself when overwhelmed? A long social media scroll, Netflix binge, impulse shopping, overindulging in food or drink? Applying minimalism to the pace of your life gives you time to meet your needs in a productive way, allows you to see how you’re distracting yourself, and provides needed space to build healthier habits. 

Author Donald Miller said, “Right before you die, you’ll realize your whole life was about loving people. And you watched too much television.” 

Is the pace of your life one that promotes escapism or love (including self-love)? Why?

In conclusion

If life feels like it’s constantly moving too fast, try applying the “less is more” philosophy of minimalism to the pace of your life. Declutter the hurry, eschew the rushing. Take a day off. Make rest routine.

If you’re feeling called to a slower pace, reflecting on the points above can help you decipher why. Do you crave stronger relationship? Do you want to bring the gifts of ordinary life into focus? Is there an unhealthy habit you’re wanting to break?

Slowing down requires a mindset shift, a countercultural one. It involves taking an entire day (or planning intentional pauses within a day) to focus on being, resting, and simply enjoying the people around you. 

Once you do, you won’t know how you lived without it. 

Let’s remember that life, on its own, moves pretty fast. The choice to stop, look around, and soak in the moments is always ours.

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Julia Ubbenga is a freelance journalist. Her online projects on minimalism, simplicity, and intentional living have reached over 50 million people worldwide. Julia also practices what she preaches in her Kansas City home where she lives with her husband and their five children. You can also find her on Instagram and Facebook.

P.S. You can now find my new book Declutter Your Heart and Your Home: How a Minimalist Life Yields Maximum Joy on Amazon!