These words come out of my mouth most mornings.
My daughter doesn’t understand the concept of hurrying. It doesn’t appear to be in her DNA. With 1 minute before she needs to leave the house she will have one shoe on and be rubbing noses with the dog.
Most days I find this exasperating as I say for the umpteenth time, “you are going to be late!”. But she never is late. Maybe it is because I am at her shoulder hurrying her through the morning. Or maybe she just gets there in her own time, at her own pace.
When do we catch the hurry bug? When do we stop taking life slow and noticing?
I luxuriated in a slow day on Sunday. I woke up early and as I couldn’t get back to sleep I decided to do some meditation. I kept dozing off and coming to and when the rest of the house woke up I felt more refreshed than I have done in a while. And that meditative start to the day stayed with me. We all took it slooooooow.
That slow vibe was still with me on Monday morning and I had a moment when I thought, “Better shake this off and get myself going!” And then I wondered, what if I don’t? What if I stay in the slow lane for a while? What might be different?
I didn’t yell at my daughter that morning. I kept an eye on the time and every now and then let her know how many minutes she had. And she made it out of the house just as she always does. I got through my day with a sense of ease that felt new.
My inner critic popped in a couple of times to tell me I was being lazy and that this was no way to go about things if you want to be successful in life. I smiled and let the thoughts wash over me. Of course my inner critic would think this. That is the programming isn’t it. Busy is best. Busy badge of honour. Everyone in a rush and a hurry.
Well, this week I choose a different pace. It feels radical. Revolutionary even. Who knows how long this sense of peace and ease will last but if feels like a good place to lead from.
Where could you take a moment to slow things down? What reaction do you have to this idea? If it feels impossible perhaps it’s exactly the thing to try.
|| Caroline Doran || Coach | Facilitator | Trainer || Book a call here ||