A more meaningful, impactful, and intentional one. A more integrated approach to work-life balance and to savoring the precious time we have on Earth. A life that calls for less overwhelm, and more purpose: that’s right, we’re talking about #slowliving.
The trend seems to have been around for a while, but it’s recently exploded in popularity thanks to the promotion it has received on TikTok. On the video-sharing app, the hashtag #slowliving counts almost 700 million views: short clips promoting “living with more presence,” “quieting down the world,” “small, meditative rituals,” and “listening to the sounds of the birds.”
Quite a few of these TikTok videos highlight the fact that slow living isn’t about “living slower,” but instead it’s all about building a life that is the right pace for you. There is no destination, one can still work at 9 to 5 and even enjoy busy moments. It’s simply about being more mindful of your life, dealing with hard times with self-compassion, and creating a life that has a purpose for you.
It’s a personal sense of time and space, and it can only be the result of truly tuning in to our individual needs. One person’s idea of slow living won’t work for someone else. Another perspective might be: unplug from the noise of what society tells you you should want, or should be doing, and focus on what truly matters and feels joyful to you.
It’s a radical shift from the hustle and bustle of the 2010s years, with their #girlbossing and #neverstop mentality that kept us working, pushing, and reaching for more. People, especially young adults in the Gen Z bracket, seem to have embraced a totally different way of life from that pushed on them by their parents’ and grandparents’ generations ––and part of the reason why might be found in our collective awareness that the planet simply won’t sustain itself through much more hyper-capitalist #hustling.
What Gen Z seems to have realized is that the constant grind and limit-pushing that are typical of hustle culture breed an environment that’s highly toxic for both the individual and the planet.
On the individual level, it’s because things like working long hours, multitasking, not getting enough sleep, sacrificing personal and social engagements in favor of work, and living by the “rise and grind” mentality can only lead to poor health, job dissatisfaction, and a classic case of burnout.
Slow living is another form of protest. It’s a form of dissent in the hands of people who have had enough of the shiny luxuries promised to them by society if they just “work hard enough”. Young people are not buying it anymore. They are dancing to the tune of their own music, and making up entirely new rhythms.
What's one small, joyful change you can make right now to infuse more mindfulness and purpose into your everyday routine?
