Slowing down my life

I rarely have strong views about a specific topic. This one, is one of them.

Something am absolutely convinced, most should attempt. I did and love that decision every bit. Whether you are an exception, only you can tell and only you can decide.

What (slowing down is not about)

1. It is not about becoming a couch potato

2. It is not about giving up your passions

3. It is not about becoming a monk

4. It is not about stopping work nor about retiring

What (slowing down is {for me})

1. Consciously reducing the overall speed of physical activity

2. Find a balance between my career goals, my state of personal relationships and responsibilities, my financial independence goals and correlate that with my current physical and mental fitness

3. Continue to add value to self and others around me

4. Upgrade my body and mind.

5. Do something which I genuinely enjoy.

6. Reduce the overall stress on the body and the mind.
   

Why (did I slow down)

The body in its 40’s and 50’s, without a doubt, starts to become frailer, stiffer and weaker, requires a lot more maintenance than in our 20’s and 30’s. How much ? Is obviously very specific to a person. I was at my healthiest between 25-40. The 30’s and the early 40’s was also the time when my career was at my peak, I was putting in 12–14-hour days, travelling for work. That is also the time when the family grew.

With the pace of work and life increasing every year, I have been asking myself, “is my body and mind capable of continuing at the same speed?”. It has been a ‘No’ for quite some time. I started putting effort in upgrading my body in the early 40’s.  Could I continue the same speed of work, the same intensity, if I upgraded my body and mind? The answer was an emphatic no again. Question was not whether I wanted a faster growing career or an upgraded lifestyle. Question was what price was I ready to pay with my physical and mental health to achieve that dream. The tell-tale signs, (read stress) however minor, were the ones I could not ignore.

How (did I slow down)

1. Slowed down on the work front in the mid 40’s from a globetrotting front-end sales role to a support role. Reduced the physical and mental (stress) effort, by maybe 10% every year. Have been slowing down ever since. The slowing down was not so much to reduce the number of hours of work, but to reduce the stress on the body and mind. If the level of stress was 100 in my early 40’s, focused on reducing that to 60-70 in my late 40’s, to maybe 40-50 in my early 50’s, to a much smaller amount now.  

2. Found my ‘callings’ in the last few years.  Long distance running, table tennis, Himalayan trekking, competitive scrabble, organising sporting events, volunteering and probably the most important of all of them, yoga. Kept my mind and body ticking. Most importantly, I started and still make a small difference in a few people’s lives through the practise of yoga. Pretty much the reason why this sabbatical continues and hopefully its stays permanent!

3. Made some fantastic new friends, spent a lot more time with my daughter than ever before. Manage a 20-minute nap every afternoon, manage to sneak in an ice cream sometimes in the middle of a hot day. Cannot complain! 😊

4. Having a level of financial independence ranked very high amongst my necessary condition to take this decision. Early planning and prudent spending was absolutely key too. What level of financial independence one requires to take that decision, is obviously a very personal decision. I have hopefully got mine right. I will know in a few years.

What (next)

Honestly, do not know. Trying to live the yoga lifestyle. Live in the present, do not think too far ahead. Looks like I might survive this slowing down. The present looks not too bad right now!

Why would others not attempt a conscious slow down.

1. Firstly the exceptions to this rule. And there are hundreds of thousands in this category. They do not need to slow down The likes of Warren Buffet, Azim Premji, Ratan Tata and, thousands more, who are unnamed, not as famous, clearly do not need to do any of this. Whether you are one of them, only you can answer.

2. My belief is that a majority of us mere mortals are not either of the above and at some stage need to start thinking, probably in their 40’s and 50’s. But also in their 20’s and 30’s start thinking and planning from a financial independence standpoint.

3. Why would some not do it:

• Some of us are convinced that continuing at the same speed does not require an upgrade of the body and the mind.

• Some do not have other interests and just do not know what else to do in life, but work, work at the same speed as ever.

• Some of us think we do best when we are stressed.

• Some do not feel the need to ‘change’. Love status quo.

• Some do not feel the need to take that risk of slowing down. A perceived risk of leaving a high profile career on what it could do a social perception of self or what it could to the chances of getting another high profile career, if you leave one.

• Though, the largest percentage of the people do not think about slowing down, simply because they just do not have the time to think.
  

Our current lifestyle (read stress) will dictate that we will lead a relatively unhealthy life as compared to our ancestors. But the advances we have made in the field of medicine, will ensure that most of the physical and sometimes mental challenges will get resolved. But what all this, will without a hint of doubt do, is make us dependent on medicines, dependent on external support, for a much longer time than our ancestors.

Live long, sure we will. Live healthy, and independent, very unlikely !

The overwhelming focus of slowing down is not so much to live long, but definitely to live healthier and most importantly for me, without any dependence. Will I achieve it, time will tell.