Can you live slow in your 20s, or is burnout inevitable?
Something I’ve been asked about quite a bit over the years is whether slow living truly has any application to people in their twenties. And while I believe that slow living has positive applications for everyone, no matter their age, work or family situation, I think it’s a fair question because so much of the information about slow living is presented from the perspective of people in their thirties and forties who are well-established in their lives and are making changes in order to slow down (usually after burning out or reaching a crisis point).
So I’m really excited to bring you today’s episode, which features another courageous and honest listener, Lauren, who is in her mid-twenties and wants to know whether slow living is something you need to ‘earn’ by hustling and burning the candle at both ends, or whether there are things she can do now to help “build the right foundations for a slow life from the start of my career, rather than course-correcting later?”
Lauren also wants toknow what specific things she might want to prioritise now in order to setherself up for an intentional life and I just want to hug her because the factthat she’s even asking these questions tells me a lot about the kind of personLauren is. She’s intentional and thoughtful and willing to do a lot ofself-reflection. In short: nothing like I was in my twenties.
Lauren and I talkabout what success looks like to her, and why it’s important for us all todevelop our own definition of it, as well as how to reframe the sense of overwhelmthat comes when faced with so many opportunities and options in your mid-twenties.
I also try to offer Lauren some suggestions on how to better get to know herself and her values, and provide some super practical ideas on how to develop boundaries at work, how to cope with self-doubt and how to practice present-moment awareness when the world is so full of distractions.
Happily I’m then joined by Jocelyn Glei, host of the podcast Hurry Slowly and author of Unsubscribe: A modern guide to getting rid of email anxiety, who shares her own experiences of figuring out what living with intention actually means (at any age) and how to view the mistakes and challenges of your twenties as essential learning experiences rather than failings or mis-steps.
Enjoy!
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Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:
- Values exercises I mentioned to Lauren:
- This one is quite simple but will give you a good indication of what’s important to you in your work
- This one is a little more in depth but combines both work and personal values life:
- Connect with Jocelyn:
- jkgeli.com
- Hurry Slowly
- Unsubscribe: A modern guide to getting rid of email anxiety by Jocelyn Glei
- Sign up to Jocelyn's excellent newsletter - one of only a handful that I read religiously
- Listen to Jocelyn on her previous episode of the podcast: Jocelyn Glei on fast tech and slow work
- Listen to our Slow Relationships podcast series from 2018:
As always, thank you for listening!