Mindfulness And Mastery

Considering how stressful college is, the text Mindfulness and Mastery in the Workplace: 21 Ways to Reduce Stress in During the Workday is very applicable to my life. I thought that the tips for reducing stress were all useful in keeping yourself from over-stressing, particularly the tip about driving a bit slower. The tip states that a person should drive in the right lane going around five miles below the speed limit. The way I interpreted this was less about the physical act of driving a car and more about moving a little slower in everyday life. The way I see it, always being in a rush does not allow you to enjoy the little things in life. I think that it can be easy to forget to appreciate what we have been given when we are constantly
trying to keep going and moving onto the next thing. Sometimes I think it is good to just take things slowly, rather than just speeding through life. I think that life already goes fast enough without us speeding through it, so slowing down a bit is definitely a good idea.
Living a slower life and taking the time to enjoy life rather than rushing through is exemplified in Henry David Thoreau’s Walden. In Walden, Thoreau rejects the constraints placed on him by society and decides to leave his life in society. Thoreau leaves normal society to live in the woods in solitude, with plenty of time for reflection. In his time in the woods, Thoreau tries to live a simple life, paying attention and appreciating nature and in general trying to rid himself of all of the problems associated with his previous way of living. Thoreau ends up spending a year in the woods alone, before deciding he had learned enough and heading home. Although staying in the woods for a year might seem like an extreme way to slow down and appreciate life, you do not have to stop living your life in order to take the time to appreciate it. Like the Mindfulness piece suggests, just slow down a bit in your daily routine and you might discover a new, refreshing outlook on life.