Why I Chose to Slow Down: My Journey from Hustle to Slow-Paced

As a person who picked music as a career path,
a path full of uncertainty, financial stress, and rejection,
it is natural that I grabbed every chance to make money.

Besides my full-time job, I needed to network, make demos, pitch proposals, build an online education platform, be a teacher, find any project that gave me a chance to grow, and I even found time to learn investing and business.

I admired this hustling lifestyle, squeezing every minute out of my day.
I was very proud and satisfied to have all the to-dos and schedules on my calendar.

Three years later, I encountered a huge burnout.
A burnout so strong that I couldn’t write any music for one year.
A burnout that happened right after I got laid off, and at the same time, my mom had a major surgery.

My mom’s surgery also taught me a lesson.
Nothing is important when you are facing a life-or-death situation.
Your health is your greatest treasure.
All the fame and money in the world cannot trade for a healthy life.

I had been practicing mindfulness and meditation from time to time, but I had almost forgotten it in my hustling lifestyle.

At that time, I could barely do anything, so it became the perfect time to return to mindfulness and learn more about it.

I read books by Thich Nhat Hanh, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Joseph Goldstein.
I learned philosophies from Buddhism and Stoicism.
I learned how to slow down my pace and how to interact with every little moment in my everyday life.
I learned that I don’t need to be in a rush or be super productive all the time.
I can still be good, even with a slow-paced lifestyle.

After only a month or two, one day I suddenly realized I could sit on a chair and do nothing for thirty minutes.
Just breathe and feel everything around me.

I wasn’t in a rush to do anything.
I knew I had work to do, but it could wait.
I could sit there without any irritation, simply enjoying every detail I noticed.

A year later, I found my passion for writing music again.
And luckily, a friend invited me to write music for their company on a regular basis.

There are still busy days, but I always begin my morning with a few breaths.

Breathe in, breathe out.
Slow and deep.
Feel the body, ease with it.
See the mind, let the thoughts flow.
I’m here.
Enjoy the moment.

I’m not filling up my day anymore.
Every day, I spend at least two hours doing nothing.
Either slow walking, just lying in the park, or watching the birds.

This is not a comparison between lifestyles.
I learned a lot from being in the hustle. And I gained a lot.
But in this moment, I enjoy a slow-paced and balanced life.