Slowing Down

I’ve seen a lot of blog posts and newspaper articles lately about people seeking a slower way of life, actively wanting to make a lifestyle change.

And then marketers and economists wondering if it will stick.

The act of slowing down, itself, has enabled me to slow down more. I used to get so overwhelmed by wanting to make a change that ultimately I was unable to make any changes.
I was constantly setting goals to, for example, go to bed an hour earlier, and then being frustrated when I didn’t-- or couldn’t.

Then I read a post, I think on either Simplemom or Zen Habits, but unfortunately I can’t find it now-- that changed my life.

The gist of the post was that we often mistake the true meaning of the phrase “It takes 30 days to change a habit”. That really, we should change the habit incrementally everyday. So instead of setting myself up for failure with an unrealistic “get up an hour earlier” decree, I could simply wake up 2 minutes earlier everyday for a month.... and at the end of a month, I’d be getting up an hour earlier.

That post changed my life.

So I wonder if whether the answer to "will it stick"is really, how long will the new economy last-- but also, how are people approaching the changes they are making. Is it out of willingness, or fear? Is it slow, or fast?