Life moves so quickly that sometimes it feels like it can pass us by before we really get the opportunity to enjoy it. But it doesn’t have to be like this – you can fight this fast-paced lifestyle that we’ve all unwittingly subscribed to, and instead learn to slow down and enjoy life. Here’s how you can actively work towards doing so, even though you just impulsively stole a Tootsie Pop at 7-Eleven and you feel like the cashier is onto you.
Be present.
A slower-paced lifestyle means being firmly grounded in the now – even if right now you are at risk of the teenager working the register at 7-Eleven discovering that you, a grown adult, just pocketed a lollipop without paying, for some reason. It means taking time to enjoy whatever you’re doing at the present moment, instead of just putting your head down and rushing off to avoid being caught and shamed for a petty crime. Slowing down is a conscious choice, and not always an easy one, especially when you have a Chocolate Tootsie Pop burning a hole in your pocket, but it will lead to better overall life satisfaction and an increased level of happiness – even though you panicked and grabbed the worst flavor of Tootsie Pop available.
Disconnect from technology.
It can be hard to hit the brakes and enjoy life when you’re trying to look busy on your phone so the 7-Eleven employee doesn’t think you look suspicious. Shutting off your phone entirely gives you time to focus on other things – like how visible you are on the security monitor – and makes you virtually untraceable should the cops show up and you have to make a break for it. Nothing says “grounded in the present” like putting your phone on Airplane Mode and sneaking out the window of a 7-Eleven bathroom.
Find pleasure in the small things.
The weather is nice, you have a free Tootsie Pop, and you haven’t yet been arrested for small-scale thievery – life is good! Sure, you might be drowning in debt, chained to a job that you hate, and so weighed down by the endless tedium of modern existence that you’ve turned to petty larceny just to feel something – but those things are out of your control, and will probably be true for the rest of your life. So, just take a deep breath and try to focus on the little things that bring you joy right now, like saving $0.39, or the thrill of picking up a nefarious new hobby.
In the end, the most important thing to remember is that 7-Eleven is a large corporation that, morally speaking, is perfectly okay to be stealing from. So go ahead and slow down, smell those roses, and don’t make eye contact with the cashier on your way out.
