Slow Food, Social Obesity, and Why Nobody Wins a Parenting Race with Carl Honore – SASM 092
Slow down.
Take it easy. Cut yourself some slack.
Along with advice like “Be more grateful,” doesn't “slow down” just seem like the solution to anything these days?
Well … what if it is?
What if the stress you feel while driving is because you're simply driving too fast and you're always rushing from one commitment to the next?
What if our world of physical and social obesity – consuming too much, too fast from your plate or social media – would disappear like our waistline if we ate mindfully and connected meaningfully?
These are not questions that the typical person asks. But Smart and Simple Matters conversations aren't typical.
And my guest for this episode, Carl Honoré, knows how to ask the challenging questions and provide the powerful answers.
Carl, who I and others like to call an Ambassador of Slow, is a multi-medium dynamo and the best-selling author of books like In Praise of Slowness. Slow food, slow travel, slow fashion, slow parenting … if it's slow, it's in his wheelhouse (just watch out for his blazing back-hand smash on the squash court, though).
Now, I know slowing down may not come naturally to you. It certainly doesn't for Carl or me.
So it's a good thing that he's ready to share his challenges and insights to decrease the speed of our personal and cultural metronome.
Are you ready to give all things slow a go? Press play and enjoy a vibrant chat that's light on fluff and heavy on real-world steps you can take to avoid life passing you by.
You're about to Learn ...
- How to prevent social obesity while gorging on meaningful connections.
- Who wins the parenting race: the tortoise … or the hare?
- How to make your smartphone your servant instead of your master.
- When it's OK to go fast – and when you need to slow down.
- How our children start life with the metronome at full throttle.
- How parenting becomes a competitive sport and our kids a product to develop.
- Why walking can be the ultimate act of slowness.
- How to avoid being sacrificed on the altar of speed.
- Why slow fashion is no longer an oxymoron.
- What a day of slow travel looks like to Carl (in Barcelona or anywhere).
- What sites like TripAdvisor take from us without our permission.
- How to practice and revive the forgotten art of being alone.
- The deep layers of connection baked into the slow food movement.
- Why life will pass you by if you don't slow down.
- Which major habit I instantly changed while reading In Praise of Slowness.
- Why Carl decided to see “darkness in technicolor” as a volunteer in Brazil.
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Resources and Items Mentioned in This Episode
Websites
- CarlHonore.com
- Canada World Youth
Resources
- Carl's Online Course: How to Slow Down (In a Good Way)
- Carl's Podcast, The Slow Revolution
- Insight Timer
- Po-Zu Shoes, Sustainable Footwear
- Slow Fashioned
- National Hugging Day
Books
Podcast Episodes
- Slow Home Podcast: Carl Honoré Talks Technology, Good Slow, and Getting to Know Your Butcher
- How to Grow Food Anywhere and Build Community Everywhere with Eugene Cooke – SASM083
Videos
Where to Find Carl on Social Media
Direct Download for This Episode
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Timestamps and Topics
- [05:37] Carl's seeds of awesomeness
- [12:24] The One Minute Bed-Time Story revelation
- [17:23] How people get stuck in permanent fast-forward mode
- [23:52] Why smartphones aren't the enemy
- [29:38] First steps to slow down for stressed-out parents
- [33:37] How Carl has handled the use of tech in his house
- [35:27] What Carl is most excited about in the world of Slow
- [41:23] What a slow travel day looks and feels like for Carl
- [48:35] The role of Slow in building community
Extra Gratitude and Special Mentions
Here's an extra dose of love to Benni in Germany who sent me a recent email that said this:
“First of all, I want to thank you for your great podcast! I love the broad range of topics. It never fails to inspire me, get me thinking about new topics or old topics from a new angle, and make me laugh!”
I receive that personally and on behalf of the Smart and Simple Matters crew, Benni. You and what you shared are tree-mend-us!
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