Don’t Speed Up, Slow Down

Abstract:

Classic motivation tends to sound like this: Do the thing! Take action! Crush it! We follow, get inspired for a day or two, and then fall off the wagon, feeling terrible about ourselves.

Has it occurred to you that maybe the fault isn’t with you, but with the “get going and crush it” mentality? I say: don’t speed up, slow down instead.

Your mission today is to learn how to actually get shit done, and be happier along the way.
 

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Task 1: Understand the lure of motivational talk

The thing with motivational talk is, it’s so wonderfully contagious. Got unresolved emotional pain or a health issue? Just jump up and get shit done anyway! You’ll feel like a hero.

Unfortunately, this is highly toxic for the exact reasons it is also attractive: Because it ignores issues. Emotional pain or health issues don’t go away if they’re being ignored, they’ll find other outlets and can turn very destructive.
 

Task 2: Your obstacle course

Becoming immune to the “crush it” mentality is like an obstacle course. That’s not because you’re too superficial to face your problems, by the way. It’s because of how addictive constant “action” is.

I’ve spoken about stress addiction before, so I’ll not belabour it here. This task is mostly a heads-up for you to expect it to be difficult. Otherwise, you’ll become yet another person who thinks “I could meditate/slow down/etc., I’m just XYZ (too busy or I don’t need it)”.

Task 3: Don’t speed up, slow down

So what can you do to get there? I suggest a quick, do-able ritual:

• Grab a cup of something

• Light a candle

• Take a deep breath

• Ask yourself gently: How are you?

• Listen

It’ll take a while until you hear more than the stereotypical “fine”. The important part is deep listening. If you do this ritual every day, you will eventually get an answer. Then you can act accordingly – truly meaningful action towards a goal that’s important to you.