We live in a world that is incredibly fast-paced, don’t we?
Instant messaging, one-click ordering, DVRing, short articles, pay with your phone, “click to accept terms” (no reading all that lawyer-speak required), texts, one-minute How To videos, 10-second sound bites, news tickers, and more.
It’s exciting, isn’t it? Read it all, see it all, have it all, do it all, be it all, know it all, eat it all, and more, more more!
MORE!
Except in this fast-paced world, I don’t believe more is better.
I believe more leads to feeling stressed out, confused, and overwhelmed.
And I’m scared for us as a society. For you personally.
You’re so busy doing that you forget who you are being.
You’re so busy achieving that you forget what you’ve already got.
You’re so busy consuming you don’t even recognize you’re already full.
I prefer to do the opposite.
- Create and commit to time to read books
- Scheduling time to play and do art
- Spending two full hours with clients in deep conversation, being a conduit to guide them to lives and businesses they are thrilled with
- Sitting by a river just watching the water rush by
- Limit my TV watching
- Watching my garden grow from tiny seeds into full blown food
What would happen, gentle reader, if you slowed down?
What would happen, gentle reader, if you stopped?
Does the idea of slowing down or stopping scare you?
Sometimes the idea of slowing down or stopping scares me, too.
The secret, though, is magic happens when you slow down. Magic happens when you stop. The magic reveals itself in the silence.
Now, lest you think I’m getting all woo-woo on you, consider this. When my clients have slowed down, they’ve:
- Made time to rest, change the oil in their cars, get mammograms, and take their pets to the vet.
- Felt re-energized by engaging in long-neglected hobbies like motorcycle riding, horseback riding, golf, and fly fishing
- Figured out their business model needs tweaking for them to love it
- Discovered an employee isn’t a right fit for them to be able to grow and thrive like they want
- Admitted a dream or goal out loud – something they’d been secretly wanting. (There’s power in voicing our dreams out loud.)
- Gone home at lunch to be with their kids.
- Made time for dates with their partners.
- Planned long-dreamed of trips
Those are real results – all of them TRUE – that my clients have discovered by slowing down.
Gentle reader, may I implore you to slow down?
And may I offer you a way to slow down…well, actually more than 100 ways?
I’m publishing my third book on or about July 1st. It’s a collection of essays called Ponder This – How Everyday Experiences Deliver Unexpected Insights in Business and Life.
I’ll share a link for ordering it as soon as it’s ready. And if you’re a Kindle user, it’ll be available for a period of time as a FREE download.
Until then, how can you slow or stop for a just a few minutes each day?
Make some room,
Angie
P.S. Feeling stuck? Want some support? Reach out. I can help.