Slowing down to Speed Up

Have there been days when you felt like you were always in a rush? Always hustling but never actually getting anywhere? Doing things over and over again without feeling like you were making progress? Being rushed to complete projects, or in a hurry to perform? I have felt the same way, my friend. Rest assured, there is a solution for you.

One day, while parked at a local library, I noticed a family of three. A mother and two daughters were walking to their car while the mother was finding her keys. I noticed a few of the windows were slightly lowered. This was most likely because of the heat. As the mother began to fetch her keys from her purse, one of the young girls went to open the car on her own.

I watched without blinking as she yanked on the door handle. When this did not work, she stuck her small arm into the car. She struggled to open the passenger side door from within. At last the Mom opened the door with her keys. It had only been a matter of seconds, but it seemed as though this was too long. The young girl must have had many places to go. There was no time to wait, and no time to waste.

The whole scenario reminded me of patience. We live in such a fast-paced and hurried world today. The general theme is that things need to happen quick. We are constantly worried about the nature of things. If we ever sat down to ask, "What am I hurrying for?" What's so important that we have to live our lives in a rush? Would we be happy with a world that would move at our pace? Is it possible to slow down and stay ahead in the race?

A subtle reminder

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished." ~Lao Tzu

This has become my favorite quote of the year. You look at a tree and notice it does not hurry. The job still gets done. You look at a flower that has bloomed. Do you think that flower was in a hurry? Yet the job got done. I urge you not to always be in a hurry. Sometimes, you need to slow it down.

One of my friends dropped a glass, which shattered inside their kitchen. As they were scrambling to gather the glass, their foot got cut by one of the pieces. I expressed how unfortunate it was that this happened to them. They responded, "Sometimes life reminds us we need to slow down."

The power of five minutes

"For fast acting relief, try slowing down." ~Lily Tomlin

There is a way for us to slow down, and speed things up at the same time. The way I do this is during meditation. By taking this time, I'm giving myself back energy and clearing my head for better decisions. I've found that the days I neglect myself I am prone to poor judgement. I've started using a timer as well when I'm writing these blogs. I have started to use the famous "Pomodoro technique." This has become a powerful part of my process. After 25 minutes of work, I take five minutes to breathe. It is my recharge moment. I'm slowing down to speed up.

Even a little break can go a mighty long way. Especially for all of us long-winded workers and worrisome folks. But often we push through, and push through until we burn out from exhaustion. We claim that we don't have enough time to slow down. We say that we don't have enough time to sit and breathe. If only we knew the power of five minutes. Five minutes of release. Five minutes of recovery and restoration. Taking five minutes has done more for my progress than five hours of pushing.

Treasuring time

We forget, in the end, we end up having no time at all. Time is something neither you nor I can ever get back. They say that life is too important to be taken seriously. Sooner or later, we realize we're not making it out alive. Take time for yourself, take time to breathe, and to appreciate each moment. Understand that sometimes it's okay to slow down.

You may find you're more efficient when your mind is focused and clear. You become more driven and go farther with more gas in your tank. Next time you catch yourself in a rush, remember nature. Try taking a breath to clear your mind to speed yourself up. You'll notice that others are burning out with engines running on empty. See how much work you start to get done when you treasure your time.

"You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry, don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way." ~Walter Hagen

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