Slow Burn

In the words of Kacey Musgraves, “I’m alright with a slow burn.” I moved at turbo speed for so much of my life figuratively and literally running as fast as I could. For many years of my late teens and early twenties, I lived with the goal of “never saying no to anything unless I could think of 3 good reasons to not do it.” Let me tell you, I lived a full life during that time. I also didn’t sleep much and thrived being fueled by caffeine, anxiety, and forward motion. I don’t regret a moment of it, but my goals and mantras have since evolved into finding ways to simplify, slow down, and to find enjoyment from saying no.

What I learned was that there is so much value in not getting caught up in the whirlwind of life when it’s not necessary. There’s value in doing without manufactured stress and arbitrary deadlines that aren’t always necessary. Life’s stressful enough; why create more stress? What I found was by making small decisions and making small changes, I ended up saving myself money, time, and stress. I carried that over to my work life and learned to prioritize thoughtful analysis and strategic planning over just checking the box. It turns out that strategic planning can actually help check the boxes when it’s done right.

What am I reading: The Joy of Missing Out by Tanya Dalton - The FOMO vs. JOMO comparison was a frequent topic at a recent trip to watch the Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Weekend in Evansville, IN - Go SIUE and Go Jayhawks! (really channeling my love for Ted Lasso here with Coach Barone being the real life Ted Lasso & the real life Jason Sudekis being a fellow big Kansas fan here) - in comparing introverts with extroverts and finding ways that we’re all different or similar. We’re all different and we all have different ways that we feel fulfilled. In the last decade, I’ve really leaned into the JOMO part of myself and it’s served me well.

I'm not telling you what to do, but here's where I'm putting my dollar: I’m not. By that I mean that, I’m relatively frugal. I don’t often buy single use things or even things that don’t need purchasing. I’m talking about reusing glass jars and bottles as storage containers and vases. I’m talking using old towels and t-shirts with holes in them instead of paper towels. It’s probably been more than a decade since I’ve spent money on paper towels or napkins. If there’s not a real need or desire for it, generally I’m not buying it.

Now, again. I’m not over the top. I try to keep my life pretty simple and 10-15 years later, I’m happy to report that while life can get stressful and can get to be a lot, I don’t feel it the way I used to. I credit that a lot to purposely simplifying as I’ve aged. It didn’t happen overnight. It happened slowly over more than a decade. I have a strong desire to not stress over things that don’t absolutely need to be stressed over because I’ve learned that there’s so much in life that is unexpected and deserves the stress. The last thing I want to do is manufacture more stress.

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Slow Burn

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