Slow Down - You Will Climb Higher and Better

I've watched my share of great climbers (I'm not one of them). And I'm always amazed by their patience, deliberation and pauses to ponder their next move. Unless they are in a competition for time, they rarely rush. They know that great climbing is not a race, it's a journey. It's not a competition but a conquering. Getting to the summit must not be hurried.

And yet so much of our culture models and requires hurry. I was driving home from lunch with my wife today and behind me a woman in her SUV was clearly frustrated and appeared angry that she could not make me go faster. I couldn't have if I wanted to but that didn't matter to her.

I then needed to change lanes and watched her place her bumper inches behind the next car. She would jerk forward hoping to go on and then slam on her brakes when the car in front of her had to stop again. She was a mess . . . and in a hurry. I don't think she was having fun.

Yes, there are times to hurry - to the hospital, when late for work or to help a friend in need perhaps. But most of the time hurry can be at worst disastrous and at best distracting. Disastrous when we make a horrible mistake and the result is unnecessary catastrophy. Distracting when our constant harried pace through life or a climb causes us to miss some of the views, the moments, the experiences that are what life is really about.

We can hurry through the early days of marriage, the young or even teen years of our kids. We can hurry through each day and miss special moments hearing the stories of people all around us or seeing special moments of life. We can hurry through our job and not enjoy the simple accomplishment of success or a project well done.

Who of us hasn't said I wish I would have ____________ when I was ___________?   I wonder if we would have less of those wishes if we'd only hurried less.

Some suggestions?  Do some intentional slowing down. Drive slower, eat slower, talk less, remove a few unnecessary things from your schedule. Get rid of the thinking that you're have to live up to some sort of potential.  Guess what?  You never will so stop trying.

Drop your entitlement thinking.  We all believe that we're entitled to that place on the road, that next step up the corporate ladder, that activity or school for our kids.  It's alright to do your best to get for you or your family a certain benefit but when we starting demanding those benefits we start hurrying more and often there is a price to pay.

Give yourself more time.  Whether it's a real mountain or a life mountain or just a daily acitivity purposely plan more hours or minutes to do it, not less. As one writer calls it add margin to your life.  Even God took time to rest, to slow down.  If He can, we can too.

Very few great things are easy or quick. Spend your time this week, this month, this year doing more great things with your life . . . but you will have to slow down.

Slow Down

I was sitting in the airport the other day waiting for my flight and saw a man with his computer on his lap. However, as I looked more closely I realized his fingers weren't moving and he was asleep! He was apparently trying hard to finish his work but his exhaustion had won out.

I was reminded that a lot of us live that way much of the time. We push and push and push with little room for margin and sometimes our body just has to catch up. Unfortunately, other things get behind, too - our time with family and friends, moments to just relax and opportunities to think about faith, purpose and our direction.

We will never return to the good old days of fewer choices, less frenzy and not so many distractions. But we can take control of our schedule in some ways that could prevent burnout, unnecessary stress and collateral damage to our physical, relational and emotional health.

Travel for work less if you have a choice. Even removing one or two trips each month will make a difference.

Clean up your schedule. It's likely that there are some things you can consolidate or simply say "no" to that would simplify your life. Perhaps your kids can share rides with someone else, maybe you can do two things on the same trip that used to require two. Maybe one of your hobbies needs to take a break for awhile.

Be intentional about including break and rest times in your week. Do you exercise or at least get out for a walk? Do you ever just stop and drink coffee without having work on your lap or nearby? When's the last time you and your spouse just did something for fun?

Like our body needs sleep, so does our mind. See that your body, soul and spirit are being nourished. They cannot go full bore and not be damaged somewhere along the way.

Take inventory of your life. Are you accomplishing anything that matters?  Are you really doing the most important things or are they just ideas that you hope to do someday. Guess what?  Someday rarely comes.