How To Slow Down & Stop Hurrying So Much

I am a GEEK for speed and efficiency. 

I’m the kind of girl who attempts to haul a ridiculous (nearly backbreaking) amount of groceries from car to kitchen all at once, simply because I hate the idea of “wasting time” with multiple trips.

And don’t even get me started on the awesomeness of speedy delivery and automation. I mean, c’mon. Goodness! How I looooove me a good:

• “How in the HECK did that come so fast?” package that shows up on my doorstep like magic.
• Or subscription service that eliminates the forgetfulness factor in reordering those “always need ’em” items.
• Or instant access pass to the latest binge-worthy Netflix series at the click of a button (with no interruptions).
• Or speedy food delivery service that hands off restaurant-quality food still piping hot (and no mess to boot!).

I could go on and on.

Obsessed With Hustle & Hurry? Here’s How To Slow Down

If you can’t already tell, THIS GIRL IS OBSESSED with fast. It’s easy for me to fall victim to hurry and hustle.

Something inside of me just feels so satisfied when I’m able to save some time or cut down on my waiting. Faster just feels so gooooooood. 

But recently, I’ve begun to wonder: 

Is faster really, truly for my (our) best long-term?

I mean, I don’t know about you, but personally, I’ve noticed my “faster is better” mentality has begun to plant some seeds subconsciously that I’m not so crazy about.

I’ve realized, the more efficient and readily accessible things become, the less I expect to wait and the more I become annoyed when I do have to wait.

In other words, as my “want it to have it” margin reduces, my patience level often follows suit.

For example:

• The privilege of “faster and on-demand” is training me to be more impatient. (e.g., Uh, hello! Where’s my coffee? I’ve been waiting for like 5 minutes!)
• It’s causing me to place exceedingly high expectations on others. (e.g., Two-day delivery, Amazon? Oh please. I’ll take same-day, thank you very much.)
• And it’s also conditioning me to label waiting or resting as a waste of time. (e.g., Umm, yeah, I don’t have time for rest. I’m so behind as it is! Plus, no one else is slowing down, so I can’t either!)

Well, shoot. I want nothing of that.

Personally, I desire to be a person who is MORE patient. MORE trusting (in the waiting and in God’s timing). And MORE habituated in God’s commanded rhythm of “work, followed by rest” (see Exodus 20:4).

How about you?

I’m guessing you probably want that, too. 

Let’s Slow Down & Fight The Hustle Together

The truth is, many of us have little room for margin these days. 

Between our work lives, family lives, and other daily demands, our time is limited at best. All too often, our burdens and responsibilities feel heavy and overwhelming. (Especially in this pandemic season. Goodness, it’s been a lot.)

So then, with all the things we have on our plates these days, how can we possibly find the time to rest?

Well, Friend. Here’s the good news: 

We get to take on more rest…slowly.

We get to slow the pace…one-small-step-at-a-time.

We don’t need to go all gung-ho, clear out our schedules completely, and rush off to sign up for some weekend-long silence retreat.

Umm, no. 

I mean, you can if you want to. (That actually sounds kind of nice).

But not all of us can afford to go to such an extreme with rest. Plus, I find we’re more able to sustain good practices and keep up healthy rhythms in the long run if we start small and take it slow and steady. 

So, then. 

Let’s go ahead and take this whole “rest thing” slowly, shall we? 

More Rest, Less Rushed (Step 1): Bring Awareness To The Hurry

Bit by bit, let’s fold in a few more beats of “slow” in the days ahead so we can feel more calm, collected, and resourced as we fight forward and take on those never-ending to-do’s.

Here’s our first step: BRING AWARENESS TO THE ANGST.

It’s that simple. 

This week, let’s just try to pay attention. Let’s start to notice when we sense ourselves feeling hustled. Like when we’re:

• Impatient and huffy in our waiting
• Multi-tasking various tasks at once (like, how many windows are open on your computer right now?)
• Rushing through errands or from one thing to the next
• Thinking through our own response instead of listening to the other person talk
• “Hearing” our loved ones in distracted theory instead of listening with our eyes
• Worrying about all the things that need to get done instead of focusing on the task at hand
• Filling our empty moments with more noise (e.g., podcasts, phone calls, etc.) instead of allowing in the quiet and waiting on God with expectancy

Bring awareness to the distraction, the angst, the hurry, Friend.

Just start to notice it. Without judgment. Just simply get curious. Think of yourself as a neutral detective of your life, uncovering the facts and reporting the evidence so you know what you’re working with.

That’s step one. 

And then, in my next newsletter, we’ll discuss where to go from there.

All right, Friend. I’ll catch you again soon. Good luck examining your life in the days ahead!