I drive slow on purpose

11 Dec, 2025

Up until the last year or so, I’ve lived my life in a full sprint. I spent almost my entire adult life chasing education and career success to heal childhood wounds (spoiler: didn’t work lol), and just chasing more: more degrees, more money, more work, and more stuff. I was just running all the time.

This also meant I wasn’t good at being present. It's hard to be "here" when you're constantly thinking about what’s next--what’s my next appointment, job, city, vacation, home upgrade, salary, concert, or degree.

That mindset didn’t just turn off while driving. Behind the wheel, I was laser focused on wherever I was headed—work, home, the grocery store, the doctor’s office. I couldn’t wait to get there, finish what I needed to do, and get onto the next thing.

I didn’t know how to live in the in-between moments of life, enjoying existence on planet Earth right here, right now. After a year of therapy, healing, self-reflection, and growth, I decided to embrace a slower pace of life for the sake of mental, emotional, and physiological peace. Constantly chasing the next thing was stressful and exhausting both mentally and physically. Anxiety takes a toll.

So now, I drive slow on purpose¹ because I try to live slow on purpose. It's better for my brain's operating system (AnxietyOS), but the world is also getting faster, and corporations constantly sell us on what’s “next”: the next version of the iPhone will be way better, the next job will pay more, the next house will be bigger. But living in the future robs us of the present moment.

I live (and drive) slower because it’s what I need to do to be a healthier, happier version of myself.

Here are the benefits I’ve noticed from driving, and living, slower:

• I leave earlier because I know I’m going to have a peaceful, relaxing drive
• I’ve adopted the attitude of “I’ll get there when I get there.” Once I’m out on the road, speeding up here or going around someone there will only get me to my destination a handful of seconds sooner.
• I’m not as prone to getting angry at other drivers because I’m not already spun up in my own ball of stress and frustration

With all that said, I’m still a work in progress. You don’t spend decades living one way, go to therapy for a year, and suddenly wake up a different person. But in the process of healing and growth, I have made the conscious decision to live differently because the way I used to live wasn’t working.

I wholeheartedly believe that if we all slowed down a bit, we’d have a little more grace and a little less anger on our streets.