The New York Times once ran an article headed This Hectic Pace of Modern Life… They ran it in 1931.
Hmmm. So what?
Anecdotally, some people can find this perceived increase in pace to be stressful. How do you cope with this anxiety?
There are many potential solutions, depending on things like your position and your personality. The simplest I know – in itself a form of meditation – is to breathe. Take three deep breaths and notice your breathing. Try it now.
Secondly, embrace change and adapt – such as using technology. Trying to keep up with the pace of change using only the old tried and tested ways can prove problematic. I love tried and tested, but there is a but.
I quite like things in threes, so the third is from Kelly McGonigal’s excellent TED talk “How to make stress your friend” (see link at the end of the article).
- Breathe
- Keep up
- Social support - seeking support or helping someone else – releases hormones that help with your stress response. It’s about human connection. The caring that comes with helping others in your community creates resilience. Giving really is good for you
As McGonigal says: “How you think and how you act can transform your experience of stress”.
If you feel that the pace of life is increasing you may need to be proactive in dealing with it. How you think about the pace of modern life, and the choices you make, can transform your experience of it.