This might be a very short article. Might being the operative word. I actually don’t know how long it will be when I sit down at the start writing; because I just write and see what comes out.
So the big question I want to explore (for myself as well as you) is…
WHY ARE YOU (WE) RUSHING?
What’s the hurry? What is the race you are in?
Maybe someone (back in a Victorian times) set us up for failure by penning the words…the human race.
Perhaps we inadvertently set an intention by using the word not how it was intended. And now we are playing it out. Interesting…or…
SHIT!!! (Sorry dad)
Is life a race?
Because when I look around (and look in the mirror) it sure as heck looks like it on occassions.
So I ask you (and me) again: Why are we rushing?
Who is playing with the frikkin strings that are causing us to feel that we need to be in constant forward motion? And that someone, somewhere is keeping score, and the scores actually (really) mean something relevant.
Yes, I am still on my tirade, but I promise you that I will get Carl Massy practical by the end of this and you will have some specific things to take away into your day and life, that might just make a difference. 🙂
A few REASONS why we might be rushing:
Let’s start by bringing some conscious awareness to our usually unconscious behaviours and habits, that are running our lives most of the time. I have told you before, it is suggested that we are only fully conscious about 5% of the time (as soon as we have a thought that takes us out of present time consciousness – aka ‘the now’ – we are being ‘controlled’ by the subconscious parts of our brains). Often good, but sometimes less than optimum.
We forgot that we have a choice
We may have bought into the idea that we don’t have a choice. When the reality is that we might be unaware of influences by external elements that actually don’t really matter in our lives. For instance the ‘consumer’ industry and marketing machine.
We believe there will be catastrophic consequences if we don’t rush
Often we are somehow seduced into thinking there will be catastrophic consequences if we don’t do something quickly. But perhaps that is the reptilian part of our brain, that is still living in survival mode, thinking life or death scenarios. The reality is that most of us (unless we are in a professional that has us on the firing line), don’t have the consequences that we dream up in our heads. Given that I was in the military for 14 years, I can also say that there were many times when the best course of action might have been the opposite of haste.
It has become a habit to do things quickly
Just like you have other habits, maybe because of your upbringing and familial circumstances, or life circumstances, you learned that if you dawdled or didn’t do things quickly you got a clip behind the ear, or yelled at, or no recognition. So you got into the HABIT of rushing. or doing things intensely to speed them up. So rather than choosing CONSCIOUSLY what absolutely needs to be done quickly, you do EVERYTHING quickly out of habit – but as the saying goes: one size does not fit all.
We think our time on planet earth is limited (so we have to rush)
And yes it is, but for most of us it is not limited to weeks and months or even years. Plus the choices you consciously make in regards to your health, are likely to extend the time-frame you have, to decades. I find people make choices about what they want in life, and then want it to happen in such a short space of time, that they have to rush. When the reality is that in the bigger scheme of this thing called life, if they got to where they really want to get, it would not matter if it took 3,4,5,6,7 or even 8 years. It is much harder to ENJOY THE JOURNEY when you are rushing like a crazy man.
We spend too much time looking over the fence
Comparisons. What more do I need to say? Your fingerprint is different from the other 7 billion people on the planet, so they means you are sure as hell different from everyone else as well (in a really unique way). Therefore if you are unique, what is the good of comparison? You are unique and your journey is unique. You are not going to have the same journey as someone else. There will be people further on the path, behind you, to the right, and to the left. Everyone is on their own unique journey, and trying to rush to catch up to someone else’s level of achievement, may not be your authentic path.
We actually think we will get the prize quicker if we rush
As you become more aware or take a step back and think about it…how many times has the opposite been true? You actually stopped rushing and driving and forcing and pushing, and something even greater came along.
We get fixated on the destination and forget about the journey
Wow. Hands up if you (like me) are guilty of this one? Did you smell the roses this morning? Did you savor the amazing aroma of your coffee, or did you slug it down for the pick-me-up? Did you notice the feeling of the sun on your skin? Or a breath of air as you drew it in? Rushing and enjoying the journey, don’t go so well together.
Maybe we are rushing to get more done, so we can make more money, so we can buy more stuff – clothes, cars, houses, phones, accessories, gadgets, etc. When the truth is we think we want these things because we think they will make us FEEL a certain way. Ultimately we are after a FEELING. Life is about FEELINGS. And the feelings of joy, love, bliss, amazement, wonder, awe, gratitude, enthusiasm, are much harder to cultivate when we are unconsciously rushing. We actually need to SLOW DOWN to fully experience and be infused with those elevated emotional states. That might mean that rushing is taking us further away from what we truly most desire to feel in life.Interesting…
Ok Carl Massy; enough hypothesizing. Get to the practical stuff!!!!
I hear you! Awareness is the absolute first part of change, and it is essential for the on-going evolution of you and your life experience. So I first and foremost wanted to have you better understand IF you are rushing, and what might be the REASONS.
- Are you rushing (too much of the time)?
- If you looked more closely, what do you think are the real reasons you are rushing?
- Do the reasons you are rushing make sense?
- What might be a better approach in your life?
- What are practical things you need to start doing or stop doing to get out of the rush and off the hamster wheel?
- Get perspective of the bigger picture. (What really is most important?)
- Pay more attention to the quality of your breathing (yes it is your connection to life and very important).
- Do mindful yoga (like at The Practice ;-)) to learn how to slow your body and therefore mind.
- Stretch the timeline on your master plan.
- Check-in daily and weekly on whether you are being mindful or mindless when it comes to what you do and when you do it.
My absolute favourite decision making strategy (and time creator habit)
Ask with everything you think you need to do:
“Is this ESSENTIAL or DESIRABLE?”
Work on the ESSENTIALS first – every time. Get rid of the stuff that does not matter and create more space for yourself (and less need to rush).
In Summary
Get clarity.
Are you rushing and why. Get really clear.
Then DO something to wedge a gap between you and the rushing thing.
Take ACTION.
I know you have got this.
Have an AWESOME day and week!!
Take care.
Carl
PS: If you want to quick-start things (and process some of your inner limiting beliefs) join me at one of the Life Masterclass events, in Bali or Berlin. It’s going to be AWESOME!!