Slow Down (2/3/10)

Is Life Moving too Fast?

The Practice

Slow down.

Why?

Most of us are way too busy these days, me included.

There are emails, phone messages, working long hours doing the jobs of two people after corporate downsizing, schlepping kids from one activity to another, or trying to match velocities with everyone else who has speeded up.

Whatever the particular causes may be in your own life, don’t you often feel like a short order cook at the lunch rush whose helper stayed home today?

There’s a place for revving up occasionally, whether it’s dealing with an emergency or cheering like a maniac because your 4th-grade daughter has finally taken a shot while playing basketball.

But chronic speediness has many bad effects:
·  It activates the fight-or-flight sympathetic nervous system, which releases nerve-jangling stress hormones, weakens your immune system, disrupts hormones, and wears down your mood.
·  It puts the alarm system of the brain on red alert, scanning for threats and often over-reacting. Have you ever noticed that when you speed up, you’re quicker to find things to worry or get irritated about?
·  It gives you less time to think clearly and make good decisions.

Even though “the need for speed” may have become a way of life for a person – or even for a nation, such as America where the average workweek is longer than in any other country in the world – it’s always possible to make a change.

Start with little things. And then let them grow. Honestly, slowing down is one of those seemingly small matters that could really change your life.

How?

This week, here are some ways to slow down. I suggest doing just one or two of them: don’t rush to slow down!

·  Do a few things more slowly than usual. Leisurely lift the cup to your lips, don’t rush through a meal, let others finish talking before jumping in, or stroll to a meeting instead of racing. Finish one task before moving on to another. A few times a day, take a long slow breath.

·  Back off the gas peddle. One time, as I zoomed down the freeway, my wife murmured, “What’s the rush?” She made me realize that slowing down a few miles per hour meant arriving just a few minutes later, but with lots more ease along the way.

·  When the phone rings, imagine that it is a church or temple bell reminding you to breathe and slow down. (This suggestion is from the Vietnamese monk, Thich Nhat Hanh.)

·  Resist the pressure of others to get things done sooner than you really need to. Their lack of planning does not create your emergency!

·  Find what’s good about this moment, as it is, with less need to zip along to the next thing. Recently I was stuck on hold on a phone call, but then I saw a bunch of cool surfing videos playing at a store nearby; watching them made me less impatient.

For the long-term, wrap up existing commitments, and then be more careful about taking on new ones. Notice and challenge any internal pressure to be always doing and getting more and more; what’s the net bottom-line effect on your quality of life: Does racing about make you happier? Or more stressed and worn out?

All the while, recognize and soak in the relaxation and well-being in slowing down – which, besides feeling good, will naturally incline your brain in that direction. Plus, don’t be surprised if people say you look more confident, rested, dignified, or happy.

It’s your life, no one else’s. Slow down and enjoy it!