Carl Honoré and his Slow Revolution

Honoré’s first book, In Praise of Slowness: How A Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed (2004), is an international bestseller in which he traces the history of our increasingly breathless relationship with time and tackles the consequences and conundrum of living in this accelerated culture of our own creation. Honoré details our perennial love affair with efficiency and speed with a blend of anecdotal reportage, history, and intellectual inquiry. It is the first comprehensive look at the worldwide slow movements making their way into the mainstream – in offices, factories, neighborhoods, kitchens, hospitals, concert halls, bedrooms, gyms, and schools.

In his 2008 book Under Pressure: Rescuing Our Children from the Culture of Hyper-Parenting, Honoré explores the potential dangers of parents micro-managing their children and demonstrates how parents can slow down and strike a balance between too little and too much. This book combines fine reporting on leading institutions and countries, intellectual inquiry, and true stories to explain how families can better the future of childhood. In 2013 Honoré's third book The Slow Fix: Solve Problems, Work Smarter and Live Better in a Fast World, was published. He questions the wide use of superficial, short-term quick fixes, arguing that slow fixes are better able to deliver longer-lasting ways of addressing complex problems.

Carl Honoré answered to some radikaliai.lt questions.

Dear Carl, You made a real Slow Revolution. How does it feel now after those years that You’ve begun it? What changes do You feel? Is the world slower now?

It feels pretty amazing. I’m blown away by how much the Slow Revolution has grown. When I first starting kicking around the idea of a “slow movement,” things were just starting to happen, and mostly below the radar. Now Slow is mainstream. Everywhere, people are using the lens of Slow to rethink what they’re doing in order to do it better. So along with the old favourites like Slow Food and Slow Cities there are now movements for Slow Travel, Slow Design, Slow Copywriting, Slow Science, Slow Parenting, Slow Education, Slow Houses, Slow Research, Slow Hiking, Slow Parks, Slow Libraries, Slow Art and on and on and on. Even people you would never expect to embrace Slow are doing so: just look at the robust Slow Fashion movement. I am regularly contacted by students who are devoting their university thesis to some aspect of Slow. Every day, I get emails from people around the world telling me how slowing down has changed their lives, their careers, their families, their companies for the better. We are all scared to decelerate, so it gives us confidence to see others doing so and reaping the benefits. The knock-on effect is really starting to kick in now.

That said, of course, speed and acceleration remain the dominant bias in our culture. It’s just that the countercurrent from Slow is exploding now, too.

You’ve published three books (two of them already are in Lithuanian). Do You have plans for the fourth?

I’ve toying around with writing a book on how to rethink ageing in a society that is getting older all the time.

Into how many languages were the books translated? How many countries did You travel concerning Slow Philosophy?

Think I’m up to 34 languages now.

Not sure how many countries but lots! Been all over Europe, North America, Asia and Latin America. My last five destinations were: New York, Berlin, Dominican Republic, South Korea and Australia.

How Slow Philosophy changed Your own life?

Every moment of my day used to be a race against the clock. Now I never feel rushed any more. I do fewer things but I do them better and enjoy them more. I am healthier and have more energy. At work, I am much more productive and creative. I also have time for those little moments that bring meaning and joy to life – reading to my children, sharing a glass of wine with my wife, chatting with a friend, pausing to gaze at a beautiful sunset. I feel so much more alive now.

What would You suggest to those people who consider themselves as maximalists?

That they are wrong! It makes no sense to rush around trying to do everything because you’re afraid life will pass you by. Life is what’s happening right here, right now – and only by slowing down can you live it to the full. If you are always rushing, always doing too many things, you only skim the surface of things. Especially in a world of abundance, less is more!