Friday Reflections 88:  The Transforming Power of Slow

“Slow down; even if you get through less, you will get more out of it.” Jay Shetty said on the Calm app last week.  My marathon coach is telling me to run faster, I must train slower.  To handle the increased load on my body, I must sleep more, at least 8.5 hours per night.  My functional medicine doctor is telling me to slow down my eating, chewing each bit at least 30 times and taking 30 minutes, yes 30 minutes, to eat each meal.  I have experienced this myself as well when I slowed down my swimming to go faster.  Most of these demonstrate slowing down actually helping us get through more, be more effective, or faster.  Even when slowing down doesn’t help us be more efficient, or faster, or get more done, we will get more out of life.  And it is our life that is going by each moment, each thing we are doing IS our life.  What life do you want to have?  One where you are always rushing and multitasking, so you don’t even experience it fully, if at all?  You have checked all the boxes but most of them you don’t even remember since you were present.  Or the life where you maybe don’t check all the boxes, but the experiences you have are real, deep, rich, meaningful and you were fully present for them making distinct memories?  When you move from one experience to another, you have a clear sense of having been present for that moment of your life, of depth, connection and meaning?  Today, I was about to get back to work after my bike ride with friends, and my daughter said, “Come here Dad.”  I protested a little, but she insisted, and we spent the next 40 minutes talking about her day and her relationships.  She is going away to college this fall.  Slowing down enough to spend this time with her was deeply meaningful.  It was a rich and real experience that I would never have even been around to experience in my busy corporate life.  She even commented on how bad a dad I was before compared to now where I slow down for those deeper connections.

Where do you need to slow down to get more out of life, to be present for your experiences?  Making time for relationships and play?  Where can slowing down actually make you go faster?  Making a packing list so you don’t have to return for the forgotten item?  Pausing to reflect before sending instructions to your team so they are clear, and the work gets done right the first time?  Or not sending that email when you are angry?

I wish you a slower weekend that you get more out of whether you get more done or not.

Best regards,

Art

#thepowerofslow #slowingdown #savor #enjoy #connections #relationships #gettingmoreoutoflife

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