From Choosing to Creating: How Slowing Down Helped Me Redefine Success

At the beginning of the year, my word was choose. I wanted to be more intentional about how I spent my time, where I focused my energy, and what I said yes to. I was craving clarity—after a period of over-committing and pushing through, I knew I needed to make some mindful choices that aligned with who I was becoming, not just who I had been.

I thought that choosing would be the hard part. But what surprised me most was what came after the choosing: the space, the stillness, and eventually…the call to create.

Have you ever felt the 'call to create'?

The Wake-Up Call

Last June, I realized I was chasing goals that no longer felt right. I was in a job that had once inspired me, but was becoming increasingly difficult to sustain. The effort it required no longer felt like it matched the impact it was having—not just externally, but internally. I felt drained, uninspired, and quietly disconnected from my own values.

I no longer wanted to just choose what to keep or let go of. I wanted to create something new.

Then came a turning point: delivering my TEDx talk. It was more than a professional milestone. It was a moment of deep reconnection—a reminder of the voice I had silenced under the weight of expectations and routines. Standing on that stage, I wasn’t just speaking about mindfulness—I was living it. And that experience shifted something fundamental in me.

I no longer wanted to just choose what to keep or let go of. I wanted to create something new.

How I Redefined Success by Slowing Down

After that talk, I made a quiet promise to myself: No more rushing into the next thing. Pause. Listen. Reflect.

So I slowed down.

I began a daily gratitude and affirmation journaling practice. Each morning, I wrote a few simple things I was grateful for and one positive statement I wanted to carry into my day. It wasn’t complicated. But it was consistent. And that consistency brought clarity.

In the stillness, I discovered:

• That presence is a kind of productivity.

• That rest is not a reward—it’s a requirement.

• That creativity thrives when we stop crowding it with busyness.

  
  

Slowing down helped me redefine success—not as doing more, but as feeling more aligned with what I do.

From Choosing to Creating

Midway through the year, I realized my word had changed. Choose got me to the threshold. Create invited me to walk through.

Sometimes, all it takes is one slow, conscious breath—and the courage to follow where it leads.

Now, I’m not just making mindful choices—I’m building something that reflects those choices. Whether it’s a new offering, a conversation, or a gentle boundary, I’m asking: Does this reflect who I am and what I value?

When we slow down long enough to listen, we give ourselves the chance to lead from the inside out.

An Invitation to You

If you’ve been feeling that tug—that whisper of “this isn’t it”—you’re not alone. Start small. Pause. Reflect. Ask yourself:

• What am I choosing today?

• What am I ready to create?

• What would happen if I let mindfulness lead?

  
  

You don’t have to overhaul everything overnight. Sometimes, all it takes is one slow, conscious breath—and the courage to follow where it leads.

Because when you stop chasing what no longer fits, you create space for what truly matters to begin.