10 Reasons Slowing Down Can Serve You Well

Do you recall Aesop’s fable from your youth – the story of the race between the tortoise and the hare? Of course, any sane person would scoff at the idea of the turtle winning the race. But as the story unfolds, the overconfident hare takes a huge lead, and believing he can never be overtaken by the turtle, gets off the path and takes a nap. We all know how the story ends.

Today, I, like many others, feel the heat of the race. The pressure to do more, go faster, keep up. And we, in spite of exhaustion, sacrifices to our health, and dents to our most valued relationships, try very hard to run as fast as we can. Day in and day out. Month in and month out.

We dash from meeting to meeting. We get up early, stay up late. We sprint through the day, collapsing breathlessly into bed at night, only to begin the race again the next day.

Our focus on speed can be fear based. We are afraid others will outpace us or are concerned we’ll be seen as slackers. We believe that there are only so many rewards and that if we don’t go fast, others will take all the goodies.

At times, a co-worker might advise us that we need to “Slow down to go faster.” When I think about that concept, I admit, I question if that’s good advice. My concern is that the goal of slowing down is to go faster.

Instead, I wonder what might happen if we lost our obsession for speed and focused on what was most important over time. In my case, I strive toward meaningful work with my clients that enable them to create better futures for themselves and those they lead. That work takes time. It is not easy. At times, we stumble. There is no clear finish line. The transformation happens in the process rather than reaching an arbitrary finish line.

10 Reasons to Slow Your Pace

There are many reasons to slow down when your pace is consuming you or unsustainable, and here, I’ve named ten. You should consider slowing your pace in order to:

Ensure you are going in the right direction
Go farther over the long haul
Go more safely
Eliminate spinning out of control
Savor the moment and ultimately the journey
Bring others along, even though they slow the pace
Avoid mistakes and mishaps
Observe and learn along the way
Maintain your health and well-being
Be more focused and in the moment

And, at the end of the day, any of those outcomes may be far more important than speed. Ask yourself what your real goal is. If it is speed, run fast and hard, and if it is getting there first and winning, knock yourself out. If it is meaning or health or relationship or learning, these words from Aesop might be good counsel:

“Don’t brag about your lightning pace, for slow and steady won the race!”

My advice: Know what race you are in – and live your days accordingly.

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