Slow

My word choice for 2025 narrowed to a shortlist of three:

• Slow

• Manifesting

• Acceptance.

I tried each word out, rolling them across my tongue and thinking of how each would apply positively to the core parts of my life: family, work, writing, exercise and health.

I took note of how my body reacted to each word (flinching, tensing, relaxing) and how fast my mind raced. After much deliberating (in Paris, because where else does one contemplate such things?) The word that resonated loud and clear was:

• Slow.

Maybe, it was also the ethereal beauty of the most romantic city in the world that forced me to slow down and breathe it all in. Possibly, it was the freezing temperatures (note: Paris in winter is my season!) that slowed my metabolism.

What became clear, was the need to ease my finger off the fast forward button and slow down in all areas of my life.

I needed to:

1. Consciously rush less (to get to things, to finish things).

2. Slow down my thought process (and not making decisions on the fly that I'd regret later when the migraine hit because I over-committed).

3. Recognise that my writing boss (me!) is approachable (I am, really!) and it’s not the end of the world if I do not tick off one of my many writing goals (gulp!).

The last point was difficult to write/admit to. My deadline driven nature needs serious work. Currently the soundtrack in my head is:

‘It is the end of the world if I do not tick off a writing goal.’

I’m passionate about writing and I write best when my head is clear and I’m feeling well. Impatience and its housemate: rushing, do not make me feel good. I’m addicted to the adrenalin rush, the euphoria of a goal achieved (no matter how small). So, slow goal 3 will be my biggest challenge.

Wish me luck.