The Peaceful Tortoise vs. the Harried Hare

 

Pacing vs. Racing

Do you remember the fable, “the Tortoise and the Hare”? What does that have to do with our lives? Quite a bit actually. Are you chronically racing about in your daily life or do you have a specific pace that works well for you and helps you feel happy and productive?

Many of us race through our lives, I call it “waterskiing on the surface of my life”, something I used to do on a regular basis. Moving that quickly helped me feel productive and successful. It also nicely kept me from feeling my deep pains and fears. When you are moving at the speed of light, you can’t feel the depth of your life. Deep feelings take time to unearth and encounter.

Health Problems

This way of living is also problematic for our emotional and physical health. Speeding about causes your body to produce adrenaline too much and too often. This stress hormone is intended to help keep us alive when we are in actual danger. But in big doses it is hard on our cells and tissues.

Slow is a better way to go

Slowing down and respecting our limits allow us to live at the right pace for us. This also makes us more productive and better able to focus and succeed. Studies show the most productive people are “on” for 50 minutes and “off” for 10. So slowing down, taking pauses actually improves our productively. So like the peaceful tortoise, remember life is a marathon NOT A SPRINT. The turtle won the race, the harried hare lost it.

For more information, here is a great book on Life Pacing.

https://www.amazon.com/Praise-Slow-Worldwide-Challenging-4-Aug-2005/dp/B011T6VQNI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1532565552&sr=8-2&keywords=in+praise+of+slowness