"We suffer from the illusion that the faster we run, the more likely we are to grasp happiness. The truth is that the velocity necessary for success rarely exceeds the rate of reflection."

– Adapted from Sam Keen

I like this quote for two reasons. First, it speaks to what seems to be a widely held belief that speed equals success, or the faster we can get something done, the better. While certainly there is value in the fact that many things that used to take a long time can now be done relatively quickly, the truth is that when the philosophy of "speed = success" becomes a way of life, one's quality of life, and even the quality of one's work can deteriorate significantly. In fact, rather than "success" being the reward for running faster and faster, often the result is stress, anxiety, frustration, and failure. Unfortunately, most people interpret this failure as evidence that they aren't running fast enough and, therefore, seek to solve the problem by moving even faster, and only stopping when they breakdown or burn out.

The reason behind "frantic = failure" is found in the second half of this week's quote "the velocity necessary for success rarely exceeds our rate of reflection." In other words, when our "velocity" or rate of movement is so fast that there is no time to stop and reflect on what we are doing and why, then the probability is high that we will continue to make decisions that are equally devoid of discernment.

This also fits in nicely with the material that I recently introduced which outlines how different parts of our brain process information. When we are frantically running around trying to get everything done, our principle driver is the fear or concern that we won't get it all done, and that bad things will happen as a result. As those of you who have been following this new theme of mine know, anytime we are driven by concern or fear, we are by definition coming from the mid and lower parts of our brain (the limbic system and brainstem). In this state (which I call the world of the underdog), we don't have access to much of our higher order thinking (such as our problem-solving skills, creativity, etc.) and this explains why we lose focus, make mistakes, and say or do things we later regret. What is ironic about this is we are actually making our fears come true. Our concern (that bad things will happen if we don't get things done quickly) is actually making bad things happen in the form of mistakes, snapping at those around us, etc.

So, what's the solution, should we just kick back, relax, and not worry whether things get done on time or not? No. I am not advocating apathy as the road to success. What I am saying is that there is very likely a "velocity," or rate of "getting things done" that allows for periodic reflection . . . a pace where we are purposefully stopping for five seconds every so often and ensuring that we are doing our best, or coming from the part of our brain that has access to our clarity, confidence, and creativity (what I call the "Top Dog" mindset).

In practical terms, what this means is that rather than using our stress, anxiety, and concern as a signal to speed up, we could use it as a signal to go 2% slower. Two percent slower won't result in our failure to accomplish the task, it will, however, give us the opportunity to do things in a more deliberate, purposeful manner, which could very likely result in an overall increase in efficiency given that we will be spending much less time correcting mistakes.

In more philosophical terms, when we are willing to build in times of reflection to the times of our lives, we can experience the wisdom that these moments of awareness bring. One way this can be done is by stopping periodically and reflecting on the quality of the experience versus just the quantity of items checked off our list. Another more powerful way to accomplish this, however, is to purposefully choose a "personal velocity" (or rate of thought and movement) that always includes reflection as one of its principal components. This means that how fast we choose to get something done would always be informed by our ability to reflect on whether the experience was congruent with our highest purpose. This way, as the guidance system of a rocket is continually making minute adjustments in speed and trajectory, we also could make subtle changes before we got too far "off course," and the likelihood that we would hit our target (happiness, joy, satisfaction, success) would increase exponentially.

Take care and God bless, Dr. Bill