Part 1: Slow is Fast

Are you a go-getter? The task-completer? The hammer-out-my-goals type? Are you all about efficiency, effectiveness, time savers and getting everything checked off that to-do list that's probably too long in the first place? Do roadblocks and barriers drive you just a little bit crazy? If you've answered yes to these questions, I hear you my friend - I relate completely and wholeheartedly.

Let’s do an exercise: Imagine you need to get across a lake and at the edge of the water you have a speedboat and a canoe, which do you prefer? Yes, that’s all the info you have. Don't overthink it - just choose.

Which one did you pick? Why did you not pick the other option? Think about this for a moment and make a mental note of what influenced your decision.

We live in a very fast-paced, goals driven, success measuring world here in the west. Getting from point A to point B quickly, efficiently, and effectively is considered success. We look for these skills in the people we hire - people who are driven, who get the job done and are able to problem solve on a dime. We reward these behaviours with bonuses, promotions and pay increases. And when things go wrong, we want the fix immediately - we start looking for solutions right away and head in that direction. This speedboat mentality is heavily encouraged because it gets results. But does it get us the best possible results? I venture to suggest that there's another way, especially in the face of decision making, that opens the potential for achieving better results than we're getting now.

We. Need. To. Slow. Down.

"Slow is fast" my coach once told me and I got what she was saying in theory, but I struggled to apply it practically, until 10 months ago. It sounds bizarre, I know, but stick with me.

I'm talking about those times when life throws us curve balls and we find ourselves feeling like the decision is impossible; when we find ourselves in the place of transition - in the in-between where we have left something behind, but what is emerging on the horizon has not yet come into view. The speedboat serves us when we have a clear, logical, cause and effect problems to manage and decisions to make. However, when circumstances are more complicated or complex, the speedboat can lead us into disaster. When we apply the speedboat mentality to these aspects of our personal or professional lives, we miss massive opportunities and insights. Circumstance can gives us a wave bigger than we were expecting, and the speed at which we’re traveling when we hit it could be detrimental to our success and wellbeing. No-one wants to be airborne in a speedboat unexpectedly.

So, here's my challenge: If you picked the speedboat above, it's time to also invest in a canoe. Metaphorically (and literally if you wish), and pick a colour. Mine’s red.

I’m not saying give up the speedboat. Life will always present those moments when a speedboat is needed. What I’m saying is this: learn to paddle, to meander, to drift with the current, to float, to notice, to venture to the edges of the lake rather than barreling across the center at break-neck speed in haste to what we think should come next. It will serve you tremendously when you’re faced with tough decisions.

Three years ago, I was introduced to backcountry camping in the Kawartha Highlands here in Ontario. Getting to the campsite was as much the adventure as the camping itself–4 lakes and 3 portages later we were deep in the backcountry of the provincial park. There's something thrilling about being in the right place at the right time to witness the beaver swimming by on its evening commute, or to be startled by the fish that jumps out of the water so close you could have touched it; to be pushing through a rough portage and find a waterfall or an opening in the trees that offers an amazing view, or bear scatt which lets you know you might want to make a bit more noise. Yes, the portage is hard, yes the lake might seem big and windy, yes a potential bear might be a problem, but it's in these uncomfortable spaces that we are able collect data and gain insight.

What I’m getting at is the “in-between”, the “journey”, the “process”, the places where creativity and innovation come to life. Our western world can be very left brain–we analyze everything, we are goal focused and linear. We’re methodical about our business plans, our relationships, we try our best to make things black or white, right or wrong, good or bad, logical, and clear. We want everything to fall into a category or under a label. We are uneasy with the unknown and in an effort to create an illusion of "known", we race forward, missing all kinds of information that might have sent us in a different direction entirely. We also want results fast, now, and yesterday. And while these ways of being produce results, they're also mindsets that limit the space for flow, being, becoming, exploration, and insight, so that we can get better results.

See Part Two: Slow is Fast for a continuation of this conversation.

#HappyPaddling #SlowIsFast