Higher, further, faster – thinking in superlatives drives some people to despair. You try to give your best at work, try to balance family, hobbies, club and you only feel stressed out? How about a speed limit for your life? Deceleration is the magic word that can help you to perceive relevant things again. So that you find yourself again not only now and then at the weekend, but also in everyday life. How it can work..
➠ Contents: What you can expect
Deceleration definition: what is it?
The dictionary describes deceleration as "the deliberate slowing down of a (previously constantly accelerating) development, an activity or similar".
The term stands thus in direct contrast to Acceleration, where the speed is increased. For example, we think of a driver who steps on the gas pedal even though he is already driving fast. Transferred to everyday life, this means, simply shift down a gear.
So synonymous with decelerate one could speak of slowing down, throttling back speed. Deceleration is not necessarily about slowing down individual processes. It rather means a Raising awareness for the processes of everyday life and work and to look closely at the extent to which they are good for you.
Anyone who feels permanently rushed and stressed will become ill. Burnout and that Feeling of being out of control can be the result. Deceleration helps you to identify the causes of these feelings.
Deceleration of time: Why do we need it??
Actually, these days we are faced with a number of technical achievement equipped that could make our lives easier. Less than 100 years ago, women’s laundry had to be done by hand. Everything took longer, even traveling by train. There was no thought of having my own car or traveling regularly by plane.
Nowadays there are cars, washing machines, dishwashers. Instead of lengthy letters, quick (!) emails are written or phone calls are made. Theoretically, this could lead to more time lead. Practically, everything has become more complex, we have more obligations, but we also impose more on ourselves.
Time is money, and so even more activities are squeezed into the available free time, the day is clocked through. Not everything that triggers stress is caused by the job. Leisure stress arises, for example, from the fear of missing out on something.
It becomes the permanent engine, drifting from one party to another. Every free minute is spent surfing all the social media channels and watching TV shows on the side. It is an attempt to multitask without any real need to do so.
The idea of deceleration counters this. The issue is more quality of life, to spend quality time consciously focusing on yourself.
Deceleration tips: Here’s how it works
Time for yourself – is it different from free time?? At least it can be something else. Depend on it, how you spend your free time. Deceleration also includes tips that you can apply well to your daily work routine:
Mindfulness
Consciously in the here and now. Deceleration means shifting your focus away from stress-triggering factors and instead grasping them again with all your senses. Mindfulness is probably one of the most important tips for slowing down and at the same time quite easy to apply.
Whether in the shower in the morning, at work, on a business trip or during lunch break: What do I see when I look around me?? What do I smell? How does the air around me feel, does the wind brush through my hair?
The sun tickles my face? Or is the rain splashing on the canopy while I sit comfortably in the dry with a warm cup of tea?? How does the floor or chair feel under me? Mindfulness teaches us to pay more attention to our own body awareness again and thus to literally come down. In this way, you consciously divert your attention to something else and can thus clear your head again.
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Reframing
Some people try to protect themselves by taking into account all possible consequences. This can lead to falling into catastrophic thinking. Considering the consequences of your own actions is of course important.
At the same time, you need a balance between planning ahead and worrying about the little things. Some things we simply cannot influence. Thinking positively and reframing are two methods you can use to bring about your deceleration.
Firstly, by adopting a fundamentally more positive attitude towards yourself and your life, not automatically seeing things negatively. Second, by recognizing the benefits of a situation that seems rather unappealing to you at the present moment.
Example: you were looking forward to a date with your girlfriend, now a cancellation comes at short notice. You are disappointed. But you could also say: Fine, more time for me. There are two sides to many things in life, focusing only on the negative aspects makes you unhappy and contributes to feeling stressed out.
You can read more about this here:
self-management
What actually causes stress? Mostly because something unplanned gets in our way. want to make a quick trip to the gym after work before an evening date. Stupidly, your husband calls you to ask if you can pick up the child from the club, because his customer appointment is taking longer than usual.
This kind of thing can happen naturally and throw your planning into disarray. The trick here is to plan a little more generously overall, to build in time buffers. This may not always work, depending on the magnitude of the unplanned incidents, but certainly there are enough examples where exactly this works.
These time buffers help you meet deadlines without having to work through the night before – a classic that many students are likely to know from their own painful experience. Likewise it contributes to the deceleration, if you identify and limit time eaters. You decide for yourself: Quickly surf Facebook or rather go outside the door for ten minutes, take a slow breath and then get back to work freshly?
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Detox
Detox stands for detoxification. This can be interpreted in several ways. For example, you can take it to mean that from now on you will take more time for your diet. You change your previous eating habits, where you were stuffing fast food into yourself.
Fast food – this stands not only for the quick production of food, but also for the quick intake of calories that land very quickly on the hips. It’s not for nothing that deceleration also includes the opposite movement, viz Slow Food.
Detox can lead to a more conscious approach to food and preparation methods. Likewise you can do it as digital detox apprehend. Just as some abstain from alcohol, sweets and/or solid foods during Lent, others consciously give up their smartphones.
The constant accessibility stresses many. On vacation and at the weekend, the smartphone is simply put down. Or even during the week it is turned on only at fixed times. Just don’t jump immediately when it rings.
You can read more about this here:
Time out
Clearly: at the end of the week or when the last recreational vacation was months ago, no one is surprised if the air is a little out of it. You can also take time out without having to hike the Way of St. James.
Schedule a fixed time in your calendar, just as you would for an appointment, in which you devote yourself to something that is good for you. It can be a trip to the sea. Just as well, however, many people find relaxation in gardening or sewing. Others use the time for meditation.
If you really have the impression that you are stuck in a hamster wheel professionally, a sabbatical can also be a good opportunity to change your perspective.
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Exercise
At first, exercise sounds like the opposite of deceleration. In fact, proper exercise is an important means of stress reduction. Right here means not just running somewhere fast, but exercising. Many people swear by jogging.
Endurance sports are ideal for seeing results in a very short time and are very healthy. Depending on your physical constitution, however, jogging can put a strain on your joints, so swimming or yoga can be good alternatives. The fact is, by exercising, you are helping to relieve stress. Clear your head, you can come up with new ideas again.