Do you ever feel like life is moving too fast. Blink, and you are too late, its old news, there is a new big trend. It is very easy to feel like a Sloth surrounded by Cheetahs. Although this year I have learnt that if you are moving more like a Sloth then that is actually okay.
Sometimes I set myself these big grand plans only to get frustrated with myself when things take longer than I thought. I am excited to announce that in July I will be releasing my podcast, Hey It Gets Better. I had the idea for this podcast about a year ago. It has taken much longer than I planned to create…. and that is okay. Not only am I producing a much better podcast because I spent more time thinking than moving but I have also got to live my life and enjoy my last year of university.
Although before I realised this I spent a lot of time frustrated I wasn’t keeping up with all the cheetahs in the world (Hope my extended metaphor is making sense otherwise this entire post might sound a bit bonkers but please stick with me). One of the moments I realised I was more of a sloth was on a Facebook video call with my uni housemates when they all told me they thought my spirit animal was a sloth.
At first I thought ‘errrmm excuse me, I do way more than sleep even though I love a good nap’. Then the more I thought about it I realised I might be more like a sloth than I thought. When I did some research and I realised I am definitely a sloth. Also, fun fact if David Attenborough could be an animal of a day then he would be a sloth.
Strategic Like A Sloth
At first glance, sloths seem to be lazy creatures however my research led me to discover that they are a lot smarter and strategic that I originally thought. Biologist, Rory Wilson, said that when sloths move slowly they do so in order to prevent large predators like eagles from seeing them. Wilson said, “I suspect that sloths are not slothful at all, they are just bloody careful.”
Now I am definitely no biologist and perhaps not even qualified enough to make this comparison but I think it works. Sloths move slowly in order to protect themselves. Reflecting on the year I realised I was moving slowly with my podcast project to protect myself not because I was lazy. Thankfully I did not have to worry about a predatory eagle swooping down but I did have to worry about my mental health and my OCD. I knew that if I took on too much whilst also going through one of the most stressful years of my degree then it would be bad for my mental health. Moving slowly was not a decision made out of laziness but a desire to protect myself. If I had took on too much I would have been like a sloth walking into an open field of Eagles.
Have there been any times you have changed how you work or organised things in your life for the benefit of your mental health?
Aware Like A Sloth
Sloths have super flexible necks, they can turn their head almost the entire way around! …. I can’t do this. However, like sloths I am aware of my surroundings and what is going on. If I rushed through this year only focusing on work and my podcast then I would have missed out on so many things. From cocktails with my friends, lazy Sundays to really good coffee. Slowing life down is not necessarily a bad thing especially if you are enjoying it much more.
Taking things slow also means you notice much more, whether it is a friend seeming down or opportunities you would have missed if you were moving too fast. It is wrong to assume that if you are slow you will miss everything, you can just as easily miss things if you are speeding by. Sometimes even cheetahs need to slow down.
What are your favorite small moments in a day?
Got A Lot Going On Like A Sloth
Sloths might seem as if they are just hanging from trees however there is an entire eco-system growing on their fur! Sloths have fur that algae finds delicious and there are lots of fungi growing on them. Because of the algae tiny animals like beetles then burrow themselves into the fur of the sloths. Just because we can’t see it when we look at a cute sloth hanging from a tree, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
When I am just sitting there I don’t have an eco-system growing on me but I do spend a lot of time thinking. Thinking about what I last saw on the news, what I read, conversations I had and sometimes just really random thoughts. Even though the majority of those thoughts never resulted in a life-changing action, without them I never would have come up with some of my most creative ideas.
When and where do you find your creativity sparks?
Are You A Sloth?
There are a lot us that often feel rushed by the world, in need of a slower pace and drained. We compare ourselves to the cheetahs in the world, constantly trying to replicate their methods but forgetting what makes us special.
It’s okay to be a sloth. When you embrace how you work best, take time to rest and recover then your quality of life becomes much better. Plus sloths are known to be very cute. We might not be a sloth all the time, sometimes we can be cheetahs but it is important to have some downtime when we embrace our inner sloths.
If you are a sloth and you are proud then share this article on your Instagram Story and tag me @Heyitgetsbetter so I can see it.
And remember,
Hey It Gets Better !
Katie xx
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