#004: The Time Typhoon

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intro

Choosing to move slowly sounds like a weird act of rebellion.

It flies in the face of some commonly held beliefs, some that intensify as we get older.

Beliefs like:

• Time is the most precious resource. There is never enough of it.

• Being fast is inherently better than being slow.

• The future is almost always more exciting than what's happening right now.

When these beliefs (among others) pick up steam, they can dominate our inner experience creating a typhoon of lack, reactivity, and resistance.

“Am I taking too long? Should I be spending my time on something more important? I can't wait to..., so I can finally...”

While attention-grabbing, and even wildly captivating at times, this mental typhoon of tension is ...just wind.

All it manages to do is interfere with our ability to flow and fully enjoy the present moment.

The unfortunate irony is rushing through life (spawned from the fear of wasting time) is one way to waste it.

The "rushing" energy keeps what we're rushing towards at arm's length. The clarity, connection, joy, love, deep fulfillment...

We can't experience those anytime but the here and now.

How do we stop feeding the typhoon while still "living with" time?

Schedules, deadlines, meetings, and dates are all necessary for the practical purposes of living life and doing biz.

This is about our relationship with time and how it impacts the countless moments between the deadlines.

There's a saying in the NAVY SEALs that sheds light on a paradoxical truth:

Slow is smooth; smooth is fast.

This statement might sum up productivity's best-kept secret.

Slowness is not a speed. Going slow is giving yourself permission to loosen your ties to time.

Letting yourself be slow, whether it's literally slowing down your physical movements or how you think, releases restless "typhoon" energy.

It creates space, and space unlocks clarity, ease, and, ironically, more time.

There's a commonly cited study that reports people spend 47% of their waking time thinking about something other than what they're currently doing. That is to say, they’re distracted.

Imagine shifting out of this autopilot plane of existing, a state full of "mental glitches" (i.e., involuntary thoughts, mind-wandering) into a smoother and deeper dimension.

It's not that glitches go away in this alternative dimension. There's just enough space (or time) for us to respond accordingly.

In this more intentional dimension, we can see these distractions for what they are. Specifically, we don't mistake them for what they aren't: something urgent or important.

The result? Fewer detours.

Make no mistake: Dropping down into this alternative dimension requires conscious effort.

We might even feel some initial discomfort as we face resistance from beliefs like the ones mentioned above.

This will all gradually diminish. In turn, we buy back more consciousness; roughly half of our waking time is for the taking.

The extra time is not even the coolest part about it. (In my opinion.)

For me, it's a greater sense of ease and flow, no matter how fast my neurons are firing that day.

Permission to slow down softens the experience of my reality.

It's jogging alongside myself when I've been trying to outrun her for as long as I can remember.

Your pace is perfect,

Silvi