Hi friend,
August is my no-rush zone. A month without hurrying, that’s been the goal. (Which is why you’re getting this newsletter deep into August. Over here walking the talk.)
Origin story. In July, I was on my way to see my mother in Northwestern Connecticut, a trip that requires three ferries and a bunch of road time. I usually enjoy the ride but due to seasonal traffic and roadwork, each leg of the trip took longer than expected.
The cumulative result was me barreling down the road with spiked blood pressure like my hair was on fire in a futile effort to make my ticketed departure time, which I missed - in BOTH directions.
Things happen, so be it. But as I sat in line, twitching for 90ish minutes with no signal, waiting for the next boat that I could maybe eek my way onto, I said to myself, “Ok, enough. Hello, teachable moment.” I’d been running hard for about 9 months between global travel and a cross-country move, and it was time to slow myself down, literally and figuratively.
But did I even know how?
Going slowly has been woefully out of favor in our dopamine-pellet age of “more-now,” but deviating from my chronically over-scheduled ways (fellow entrepreneurs, I know you feel me), had become necessary.
I “teach” what I need to learn, so I channeled my line of inquiry and research into a journaling workshop (which was covered by The New York Times) titled…
The Long Way Home:
Going Slow
And it felt good. Really good. A few of the things I’ve learned in the process:
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Taking your time isn’t the same as being indecisive. Poet and essayist Mark Van Doren counseled, “Slowly, slowly wisdom gathers.” Damn straight.
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The space between occurrence and response is one of the most important in our lives. Giving it a beat will only increase the quality of our interactions.
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In this age of click-bait punditry where everyone seems to have an instant opinion about everything, we are allowed to come to a conclusion when we know more.
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Saying “I don’t know yet” rather than stating an opinion that isn’t fully baked is a demonstration of wisdom, not a lack of leadership.
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When you’re not rushing there’s more room between points A and B, so you’ll likely spend more time in the in-between. These liminal spaces can feel uncomfortable because they’re not defined, but there’s a huge amount of creative opportunity and freedom in the unknown.
Despite our current Amazon Prime levels of micro-patience, there is no finish line and faster doesn’t always equal better. This is not a race. And slow is actually pretty darn sexy.
Happy August, my friends. I hope you’ll experiment with ways to slow down and savor the rest of the summer. Take your time. That’s right - your time is yours, so take it.
In Swellness,
Laura
Photo Credit: Joni Mitchel by Norman Seeff