Everything feels so fast these days and I don’t even remember when it started. 

Like one day I just woke up and the days were moving faster than my brain could catch and expectations just kept piling up and there’s this quiet pressure to always be doing something that looks like progress. 

Something big, something EXTRAORDINARY, and if you pause for even a minute it feels sus like maybe you’ve given up or maybe you don’t want it badly enough and honestly I’ve fallen for that lie more times than I can count.

Side note: did you see how fast January, 2026 was? The fastest January since the history of Januaries. If you want to argue, I don’t know how to convince you o.

(meme)

Anyway, I’m learning that slowing down only feels like failure because society literally teaches us that speed is proof you’re serious. Hustle is the language everyone speaks, ask Lagosians hehehe. 

Being busy is the easiest flex ever. Rest always needs a reason. “Oh you’re tired? At least be tired doing something big.” 

But being busy all the time doesn’t mean you’re moving forward. Sometimes it just means you’re running on fumes and calling it discipline, and yes, I’ve been guilty of that plenty of times.

I’ve had to rethink what progress even means for me and it’s not easy, because it stripped away all the noise. 

Progress isn’t always obvious as in something you can point at. Sometimes it’s showing up day after day. Sometimes it’s choosing peace when chaos would be have been easier. Sometimes it’s realizing you’re about to burn out and actually stopping before you do. Slow doesn’t mean stuck, even if everyone else seems to be sprinting ahead.

There are seasons where speed just isn’t the assignment, where your body needs the gentleness more than you need motivation. Seasons where listening to yourself matters more than keeping up with timelines that were never really yours anyway. Honoring those seasons isn’t shrinking, it’s just being honest. And honestly, honesty takes more courage than forcing productivity when you’re already empty.

So if you’re reading this and feeling behind, you’re not. If your life feels slower than you imagined by now, that doesn’t mean you missed your moment or took a wrong turn. You’re allowed to move at a pace that keeps you whole and sane and actually excited about living, not just surviving.

So yeah, consider this your permission slip, even if you didn’t ask for one. To pause without guilt. To trust that life doesn’t need to be rushed to be meaningful.

You’re not late. You’re human. And that has to count for something.