FitDeck Blog with founder Phil Black

The Power of Slow

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Mental Edge Monday

Topic #42: The Power of Slow

I'm getting sick of being so rushed. One of my New Year's Resolutions is to carve out 5 minutes a day for reflection, prayer, meditation, staring into space, or whatever you want to call it. Let's call it a 5-minute "slow down".

Sounds pretty easy, un-ambitious - and lame, right? Who can't afford 5 minutes a day to put toward sitting in peaceful nothingness? Well apparently, I can't.

One of my daily checks is this "5-minute reflection" and I'm having a hard time keeping up. I often force myself into this "5-minute slow down" at night when my bedtime is fast approaching.  Sounds relaxing, right? What a dope. 

Then my friend calls me and tells me my videos are too long and boring and that I talk too much. Well, he's got a point there -- I can really talk when I believe in something. He then tells me that he won't look at any video over 60 seconds. That got me really wondering what was going on. What has the world come to?

Today's world is so much about sound bites, choppy videos, and instant gratification. What real value ever comes out of these?

There is so much to be gained by going slower. Slow is how we learn values and morals. It's how we build intuition and gain experience.

Yes, it's slow-going to prepare a home-cooked meal, but think of the nutritional and family bonding value that comes out of it?

It's hard to build trusting, lasting relationships "quickly". They take time. It's what gives relationships their real value. Giving someone your time should really clue people in that you really value them as a friend, client, spouse, child, or co-worker. Time's hard to come by - and we can never get it back.

Time, more than money, has real lasting value. This may be why it's more important for you to spend 3 painstaking hours working side-by-side with your 6-yr old son on his Cub Scout Raingutter Regatta Boat project rather than letting the babysitter do it while you're at work.

I'm pissed off that I don't slow down more and I'm purposely going to do something intentionally slow tomorrow. I might take the long way home from picking my kids up from school or maybe I'll sit down and read the newspaper from cover to cover without looking at my watch once.

What do you do that forces you to slow down?

Until next week, Keep the Edge.

Phil Black (FitDeck Founder)