The Eagles are in the playoffs and the fans are going nuts. I believe it’s been a while since they’ve won a division title.
I recently had a chance to have cigars and bourbon with Fred Barnett, a former wide receiver for the Eagles. After a few minutes of pleasantries on cigars and bourbon, the conversation naturally turned to football—specifically, Fred’s thoughts on Eagles quarterback, Nick Foles.
Among his many insightful observations on Foles, one in particular stood out to me: that he needs to slow down. My initial thought was, what a strange comment to make when talking about such a fast-paced game. Then I dug deeper, and realized what he actually meant was that Foles needs to ground himself.
I am no football expert, but that statement made sense to me. Many times when I am in a rush to get something done, I end up doing it not as well. And that goes for everything I do. When I am rushing out of the house, I end up spilling my coffee or stubbing my toe. In my haste to get moving, I’m not paying much attention to what I’m doing, but rather on getting to where I need to go in short order. And what does that get me? More mistakes. More time wasted.
Each time I find myself in this position, I come to the same conclusion: had I taken a step back and slowed down, I’d have accomplished my intended tasks more efficiently—without the time consuming errors.
Today, I am reminding all of you (and myself) that faster isn’t necessarily better. In our fast-paced world of today, we’ve somehow come to believe that it is, but it’s not.
Just slow down.
“One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren’t enough hours in the day but if we do each thing calmly and carefully we will get it done quicker and with much less stress.” – Viggo Mortensen
Have a nice weekend.
Vijay