EMBRACE SLOWING DOWN

We spend most of our lives chasing some goal or another, whether at a personal or professional level. The result is that when we come to retirement, we feel lost. We no longer have goals and objectives imposed on us. It is now up to us to decide what we will be achieving and when.

There is a significant difference between goals and purpose. Purpose is associated with creating meaning in our lives whereas goals are often associated with targets we set ourselves to achieve within a certain timeframe. Purpose also reflects a level of quality and satisfaction with life. That is not necessarily the case with goals and objectives.

Upon retirement, we often feel guilty if we do not continue with relentlessly pursuing goals and objectives. We almost see it as a badge of honour if we can tell others just how busy we have been since retirement. You may have heard the oft quoted mantra, namely: “I don’t know how I had time to work!”.

The Slow Movement that came about in the eighties in Italy was in response to globalization and the impact on the production and consumption of food. The purpose was to protect the unique Mediterranean tradition of time spent with family and friends unhurriedly enjoying gastronomic pleasures, washed down with local wines.

The slow movement is now found in other areas of life, such as fashion and sets out to challenge the mindless production and consumption of low-quality clothes that significantly contribute to the pollution of the environment.

However, the Calvinistic work ethic means we have an aversion to the concept of slow as we may associate it with being lazy. The majority of our working life we have been slavishly subscribing to the need for busyness rather than being. We have come to value quantity over quality, including how we spend our time. So often the obsession with busyness results in burnout.

I therefore encourage you to embrace the philosophy of the Slow Movement that advocates we structure our lives around meaning and fulfilment and not slavishly cramming as much as we can into each day.

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