“See what happens when you tune your pace to the trickle of a stream, or the waft of a lazy breeze.”
chris advansun
This one is tricky for me.
I’m a list person. Few things give me more satisfaction than crossing things off my to-do list. I have a hard time relaxing when there are daily tasks left undone. So I often unconsciously drive myself through each one, trying to grind it out, mark it off and move quickly to the next.
That’s not a fun way to live. It can be productive, for awhile. But that approach often leaves me tense, exhausted and short-tempered. And when I finally do reach that free time at the end of the day, I’m often wired and irritable.
When I first read the above quote, my honest thought was, “That sounds nice, but you won’t get much done that way.”
I think I was wrong.
I’ve been experimenting with this approach. Moving more unhurriedly. Pausing more frequently to gaze out the window, chat with my wife or make an extra cup of tea. In short, taking my time.
It will come as no surprise to learn that I find those days far more relaxing and enjoyable than my striving ones. But I’ve also discovered that I get an amazing amount done. At the end of the day, I look back in astonishment at my productivity, especially because I often feel good versus feeling like a wrung-out sponge. It seems so counterintuitive.
This approach reminds me of my Uncle Fred. He’s a soft-spoken southern gentleman, kindhearted and full of simple wisdom. He talks seldom, but when he does, everyone listens because he only speaks when there’s something worthwhile to say.
My dad used to work construction with Uncle Fred. He told me that Fred was the most deceptively fast worker he ever saw. Whenever he’d see Fred on the construction site, my uncle was never in a hurry, always moving through the job with a casual grace. But at the end of the day, he’d done more work than anyone.
I could conjecture about why this approach to life works. How a gentler pace helps you think more clearly, lessons stress, increases motivation, and aids in connecting with others and with God or your Higher Power, if you have one. But the point is that it works, at least for me.
So I’m trying to make this my new normal. It’s not easy to recode fifty plus years worth of programming, but I’m making slow progress. And the rewards are motivating me to keep going.
How about you? Is your approach to your daily tasks more like a trickling stream or a raging river? Closer to a lazy breeze or a hurricane? Pause often. Take a few deep breaths. Gaze out the window. Play calming music. Imagine a stream or a breeze. You’ll find a more enjoyable and productive life, and you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.
This post was originally published Nov 13, 2021.
In college, I tackled what was, for me, a really difficult music performance major. I’d gone into college with almost no musical experience, and I was hanging on my by fingertips in classes that assumed years of training. I was working like mad just to survive the workload in a competitive field of study where you were never really done. There was always more practicing to do.
Things got better. I found myself more rested and able to push through the hard times knowing I had those breaks to look forward to. As time went on, I worked to expand the exercise into taking a full day off every week. In Jewish and Christian traditions, it’s called taking a Sabbath day. In the Bible, it’s even one of the 10 Commandments (see below). Why did it make one of the Big 10? I think it’s because God knew our human tendency to go like the Energizer Bunny. To constantly try to achieve something, to be busy. To become human doings vs. human beings.
One of the big objections I had to this idea early on was the belief that I had too much to do. That I didn’t have time to take a full day off. I was afraid I’d fall behind in my work and not accomplish as much as I wanted to. But I’ve come to realize that, over the long haul, the opposite is true. When I take a full day off, I am renewed, rested, and motivated for the rest of the week. I’ve found that I actually accomplish more in 6 energized days than in 7 tired days. And it’s a lot more enjoyable way to live.
Taking a day off a week isn’t being lazy. It’s not a wasted opportunity. It’s strategically taking the time to sharpen your ax. The concept of sabbath is recharging, renewing, and makes you more productive. It’s like taking a mini-vacation every 7 days. It gives you more joy in life and helps you keep perspective on what’s really important.