The Antidote to Hustle Culture
Unless you were born yesterday, you probably have acclimated to a fast-paced world defined by routines and deadlines. It can be rare to get a moment to yourself to breathe, and when you do, your mind is preoccupied with the next fire to put out. Well, as an antidote and cure to hustle culture and burnout, many TikTokers that are regular people like all of us have proposed living a “soft life.” This lifestyle change doesn’t mean all your worries and responsibilities go out the window today, but it is a lifestyle switch to a happier life overall.
Instead of living life on the precipice of the next big thing (whatever that may look like for you), the soft life proposes that we stop and smell the roses. As in, we take extra time to nurture ourselves, to be present and most importantly, to prioritize experiences over materialistic things and how we want to be perceived.
TikToker @magalinigellaneiteler perfectly encapsulates the vibe of soft living in this video:
Luxury in Experience, Not in Material Items
As you may find in some videos under the #softlife tag, some people present a relatively luxurious lifestyle. However, we’re here to debunk that myth. Soft living is not so much an aesthetic as much as a way of being. Examples include taking long walks after dinner, trying new coffee recipes every morning to zhuzh up your caffeine game and implementing bedtime routines that nourish your body and soul. It's about romanticizing the little moments in your day.
The goal is not to have the most expensive products or experiences but to experience the richness in everything you do. One low-cost way of achieving this luxury in soft living is a gua sha routine or writing morning and nightly affirmations and positive moments in a gratitude journal. No-cost ways of incorporating this luxury into your life include indulging in those five extra minutes of sleep, practicing yin yoga in the morning and meeting with your bestie once a week to spend time outdoors together — quality over quantity on the price tag.
Prioritizing That Which Feeds Your Soul
Similar to finding the abundance in experiences, focusing on the things that uplift you and prioritizing these things will further enhance this “soft life” lifestyle. Instead of dragging yourself to social outings you don’t want to attend or spiraling down a Netflix rabbit hole (unless that brings you joy), consider reallocating your time to make room for hobbies.
Maybe you already have hobbies near and dear to your heart, or perhaps you have ones you would like to try but have not gotten around to. Now is the time to finally book that pottery class or set aside that extra 30 minutes a night to paint. Mind-body connectivity and deep grounding are part of the soft life way of living. It's harder to feel easily rattled by life when you are entrenched in regularly doing things that you love. More than that, engaging with activities that you have a positive association with will bring about greater happiness and calmness — leading to that gentle feeling necessary to live a soft life.
Mindfulness and Non-Reaction
The final component of switching to the soft lifestyle is practicing mindfulness and non-reaction. Choosing a slower pace of life does not immediately “Thanos snap,” the chaos out of your reality. What you can do, though, is choose your response to less ideal situations (easier said than done, we know). However, mindfulness and non-reactivity are muscles that you can exercise.
Taking regular breathing exercises, trying quick meditations and stepping away before responding in an argument are all methods of showing up with more intention and limiting the stress a less-than-favorable event may otherwise have on you. Many hard situations can be made even a smidge less difficult with the correct response — to choose to respond with softness.
