What's The Rush?

Lately I’ve found myself running at a fast neck-breaking pace…trying to beat life to the punch.  Like many of you, I get occupied by friends and colleagues who are also running this race we call life.  I continue to check and see how I measure up to their success.  I often focus on how far along they have progressed on their personal journey, and wonder why I’m not there yet.  This hurried motion only leaves me exhausted, more impatient… and running towards something that appears to have no finish line.

My constant need to do things bigger, better, faster than others keeps me from dwelling in the process of learning.  It also causes me to disrespect my own journey and blinds me to the possibility of what can be gained by slowing down.

First lady Michelle Obama said this in a recent talk to a crowd of young adults, “The only thing that happens in an instant is destruction.  Build something…earthquake, it’s gone.  But everything else requires time: raising children, building a family, having a career.  All of it takes time.”

Instead of concentrating on what other people are doing and allowing myself to be consumed by the speed they can deliver it, I have now made the decision to slow down and define what I, and only I, can give back in my personal or professional life.  I have started to realize that the slowness is not a reason to stop and be impatient, but it gives me the energy and focus to keep moving toward the highest expression of MY life…in my own time, and at my own pace.