FAST OR SLOW ?

There is more to life than increasing its speed. - Gandhi

Come on now, let’s admit it, we are all having a modern day love affair with speed and the faster the better. There is a very good case for speed. The exhilaration you experience from that stomach in your chest feeling that you can only get with the speed of the ride at the amusement park. Or what about the thrill you get from accelerating a car around a race circuit.

The faster the better is great in many of our technologies; faster internet, faster computing speeds, faster air planes (who really likes sitting there for longer than necessary) and some services eg faster and safer public transport and things like improved productivity from technology.

Speed as we know can be a source of great fun and can also make our lives easier and more comfortable when applied to our technologies, but mis-handled and it can kill us really quick too.

I would like to challenge the view that faster is better. Unfortunately too many of us have applied it to our daily lives and as a result are forced to suffer the consequences. Life needs to be lived at a slow pace.

In this world were speed rules and everyone is under pressure to go faster, then anything that slows us down or gets in our way becomes the enemy. Thanks to speed we are living in an age of rage and torment. We need to find ways to calm down the hectic pace of our lives and strive for a new balance between fast and slow, allowing us to enjoy a richer, fuller life as a result. Too many of us have forgotten how to look forward to things or how to enjoy and savour the moment; instead we are busy rushing of to the next thing, often before the previous one has even completed.

In the past we took things at a much slower pace and savoured and enjoyed the journey, an enrichment we have forgone in our haste to ‘get there faster’. As a consequence our bodies are wearing out prematurely and our health is suffering and our human productivity is slipping. Many of us are living with jangled nerves. Plus the “joie de vivre” or joy of life is missing. Let’s face it – the human body can enjoy the thrill of speed, but is not itself designed for speed such as a machine is.

Slowing down provides us with an opportunity to change our lives for the better. “Slow down you move too fast”, the words from the song keep playing in my head, so let’s look at some of the ways we might achieve this:-  

·         Next time you are feeling under pressure and the creative juices aren’t flowing freely, try taking ten. Yep, a 10 minute nap can do wonders to restore you.

·         Take 20 minutes a day to meditate. If you can’t spare 20 or think you can’t handle it, try starting out with 1 minute and see what you can work up to. It has actually been demonstrated that regular meditators are more productive and creative than their non meditating colleagues.

·         Walk to work if you can. This time not only provides some light exercise but also clears the brain making it available for productive activity.

·         Take a leisurely walk in the park or in the gardens and observe what’s around you. A walk in nature does wonders for your soul.

·         Next time you are feeling stressed or anxious - try taking a minute out and taking 3 deep slow breaths. You will be amazed at the results. This is much better than trying to speed on past and ignore the feelings – which of course only tends to compound them.

·         Instead of wolfing down your meals (not good for the digestion, especially when you are also digesting the stress that develops from rushing) take a proper meal break and eat at a leisurely pace. Soon you will find your taste for food has returned and no longer will you be satisfied with just continually refuelling the body.

·         Keep your self thoroughly involved in one thing at a time. Eg take time to enjoy your meal, don’t work and eat at the same time.

·         Allow a little extra time to drive to work or other destinations. This way you can still be in the flow, but you are slower in your mind and can avoid all the stress and panic and still be there on time.

·         Consider working 50 minute hours. Try it for a little while, you will be surprised at the results; you should find your concentration, energy levels, productivity and creative ability greatly improved.

·         Most arguments happen because we rush into them. Next time you sense one coming up - walk away, take a deep breath and slowly return. By the time you have done this, things should have cooled enough for you to rationally discuss the problem.

            Make the most of both – fast and slow, but make sure you apply the right speed to the right application.

            © Ron Windred 2009

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