Slow down and listen to your inner voice…

Suzy Walker listens to her inner voice and makes a big decision about her future, then heads into London on her narrowboat to find her flow

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Slow down and listen to your inner voice...

5 minute read

Last month, I was waking at dawn and listening to birdsong. It turns out that when you slow down, thatโ€™s not the only thing you start to hear. Normally, Iโ€™m rushing around so much that I donโ€™t detect those little whispers of the soul; the subtle nudges that have to become great big shoves to get your attention. But I heard a loud whisper in July after visiting one of our Psychologies experts, coach and TED talker Tiu de Haan, who lives on a houseboat in London. I live in Sussex but my 16-year-old son, Charlie, has just been offered a place at a sixth form college in Islington to study film. A brilliant opportunity but a huge commute for him.

I have learned on my slow journey this year that my priorities in life are the people I love โ€“ and my son is the centre of my world. I only have a few more years before he flies the nest and the long commute would mean Iโ€™d hardly see him. After visiting Tiu on her boat, I had a flash of inspiration. Why not move back to London and onto a boat? It would be more affordable than a flat, Charlie would only have a five-minute commute and I could have a two-year adventure? That quiet whisper turned into a roar and, after six weeks of research, synchronicity and epic decluttering, I have rented out my house, bought a 46-foot narrowboat and secured a mooring in a marina.

The inside story

At Psychologies, we constantly ask our readers to listen to their inner voice, yet Iโ€™ve been so overwhelmed by the demands of life, that Iโ€™ve stopped listening to mine. But 2019 has given me the opportunity to understand why I was travelling so fast and helped me find a new path โ€“ where I have focused on whatโ€™s really important to me. Decluttering my house and giving everything away so we can go and live on a boat has made me realise that stuff doesnโ€™t matter. And learning how to accept and have compassion for myself while navigating the world with my emotional baggage has helped me get back into the flow of life. Literally.

My โ€˜slow boatโ€™ is now in the River Lea and I am sailing downriver to my new life in the city. Let the adventure begin.

Listen to โ€˜My slow yearโ€™ podcasts: Browse the โ€˜Psychologiesโ€™ podcast channel on iTunes, TuneIn and AudioBoom to hear Suzy in conversation with various experts.

Image: Getty