Our goals and ambition drive us to move ahead with speed and enthusiasm. Our need for speed comes from the inner urge that if we are not quick enough, we will lose out in life. It is true that procrastinating over things can come back to hurt us. In our dynamism in this ever-changing world, we will be well served if we learn the subtle art of being able to ‘hasten slowly’.

Constantly moving ahead at a high speed can lead to recklessness. Knowing when to change gears is the hallmark of a good driver.

We give energy to things that we enjoy and we find ourselves making progress. When our flow gets interrupted with issues needing our attention, we have two choices. We can either continue on our fast pace, ignoring them, or we can slow down a bit, attend to them and pick up speed again.

Not taking care of small issues in their infancy can lead to them becoming big problems, draining us of vital energy and resources in the future. Slowing down a bit to take care of them, in fact, helps us move ahead faster in the long run.

In a world full of twists and turns, we need to learn to read the early warning signs and recalibrate our speed and course. When he sees a storm coming, a good captain alters his speed and direction. Like a good captain, we need to be ever mindful and watchful, slowing in a storm and cruising at full throttle in calm waters.

Health and relationships become the casualty of our obsession with moving ahead with speed at any cost. We lose the very things we are living for because we mistakenly think slowing down means losing out.

Life is not a race, it is a journey. It is not how fast we reached, but how well we enjoyed each step of the way. We can truly enjoy the opportunities and experiences we are gifted if we give everything our full attention. And we can only do that when we learn to hasten slowly.

(Picture-Winter flowers in our garden this morning)