Haste Makes Waste

‘There is more to life than increasing its speed.’ – Muhatma Ghandhi

Have you ever heard an affirmation but never really understood what it meant – or better yet, never paid attention. That was me three years ago on a gorgeous, sunny spring morning. My five year-old and I were in the kitchen creating Valentine’s treasures for a party in his classroom, and this was a thrill as I’d missed most of these fun things with my eldest son as my job had not been as flexible then.

I relished spending time baking and creating as I wasn’t this type of mother – I was the ‘run around and purchase the baking at the last minute’ type of parent.

We spent three hours making Sorcerer’s Hats – inspired from the Harry Potter book series. We used ice cream cones, dripped chocolate, candies, icing, and a lot of imagination. When we finished our creations, we loaded them into a cardboard box and ran to the van. We were late for the party.

I should’ve known not to rush, as I wrote a book called: Escape The Pace: 100 Ways To Slow Down And Enjoy Your Life. However, I panicked and put the boxed hats on the roof of my van while I piled the other party supplies into my vehicle. My son yelled something sweet to me while I proceeded to back up and drive away.

I put the pedal to the medal and squealed down the asphalt street when suddenly, I saw a blue Ford pickup truck swerving all over the road in front of me. “What an idiot,” I yelled.

Suddenly, I heard the sickening sound of something hitting pavement, and then I glanced back in my rear-view mirror to see 24 crumbled Sorcerer’s hats strewn across the road.

I drove to the side of the road to survey the damage. The hats were obliterated. I couldn’t believe how stupid I’d been – three hours of work ‘down the drain.’ But worse than that – I was afraid my son would ‘freak out.’

I had two choices: be sad or make the best of it, laugh and remark how silly I was. I chose the latter. I looked at my son, apologized and replied, “Oh what a silly-willy your mother is…see what she did? She went too fast and wasn’t paying attention. I bet you wouldn’t do this would you?”

My son shook his head. No, he’d be more attentive. He looked disappointed, but his spirit wasn’t crushed because we laughed it off as one of life’s silly mistakes. He learned that it’s not the end of the world when things don’t go as planned – it’s how you handle things that don’t go right.

However, that didn’t stop him from being vocal. He yelled out, “Mom’s a moron…mom’s a moron!” while I drove to the school.

By the time we’d reached the school, we’d both done a lot of soul-searching. It’s funny how you can experience a deep epiphany while driving or while doing something mundane. I always believed that intense soul moments occurred while climbing the mountains of Nepal, or praying in a monastery, or when faced with a life and death situation. However, sometimes the simplest moments teach you important lessons if you’re paying attention.

Here I was, an author writing about slowing down, and I ruined baked goods and almost caused a traffic accident. I felt like a fraud, a fake, a lost cause... but then I realized something. I was human, and I was a parent; I fell off the band-wagon and got caught up in the moment. It happens to all of us, and it’s hard to avoid. As the world spins faster and faster, we feel ourselves teetering dangerously close to the edge leading to the abyss.

I recently attended an important conference at Seattle University called: Take Back Your Time.

This movement challenges the amount of time Americans are employed and how they work nine weeks a year more than Europeans. The conference didn’t just focus on over-work, it addressed issues of time-poverty, over-scheduling, technology challenges, work/life balance and the world-wide movement towards slowing down. Much of our impatience, arrogance and rudeness are attributed to our devices and their fibre-optic speed.

How many times do you feel anger or impatience because someone’s driving too slowly in the fast lane, the Internet isn’t loading quickly enough, or the bank lineup isn’t moving? We wouldn’t feel this anger if our lives weren’t so full, and we didn’t suffer from ‘too much to do – too little time syndrome.’

How do we solve this problem? Start by bucking society’s trend, slowing down, and escaping the pace. When you wake up in the morning, think about a mini holiday you can do before work.

For example, you might soak in the tub, do yoga stretches, walk your dog, or drink coffee…the list is endless. Later in the day you might write a poem during a coffee break or take a nap during lunch hour. Your escape will be as individual as you are, but if you practice the ‘escape philosophy’ for one month, you’ll see your stress level diminish. And, you’ll no longer feel the urge to rush through your days.

Many people would prefer to scale back and not feel the urgency to hit the ‘send’ button the second they receive an email. In truth, we’re all afraid of ‘techno-snubbing.’ (We don’t want to miss an opportunity, or look unprofessional or snobby because we’re slow to respond.)

What we need to do when we feel overwhelmed is to forget about what others think, count to ten, take a few deep breaths, and escape the pace – if only for a moment. After all, haste makes waste.

Lisa Rickwood, B.F.A., is passionate about helping people slow down and enjoy their lives. She is the founder of Escape The Pace^®, a business dedicated to helping people live a happier, relaxed life while pursuing careers, raising families, and making their dreams come true. This was a spin-off from her highly regarded book, Escape The Pace: 100 Fun And Easy Ways To Slow Down And Enjoy Life. Lisa has helped dozens of professionals, entrepreneurs, and executives improve their lives by offering: seminars, play-shops, keynote talks, books, greeting cards, gift boxes, e-books, and an e-zine.

Lisa was born in Vancouver, Canada, and raised in the Okanagan in British Columbia. She has a visual art degree from the University of Victoria and is an accomplished international visual artist. She also spent years working for two large newspapers as an advertising consultant before becoming co-owner of a high-end menswear store with her husband on Vancouver Island. When she’s not at the store or working on her business, she’s taking care of her husband, two sons, and step-son.

She is a sought-after speaker and has lectured at colleges, Health and Wellness Shows, business networks, Rotary Clubs, and large organizations. She is a regular contributor to Woman’s World magazine as well as Synergy and Pure Woman magazine. She has been featured in Common Ground magazine and the The Berkeley Psychic Institute Newspaper. Two well-known U.S. authors will feature her in their books, respectively, Mom CEO and Less Than Perfect.

Lisa is passionate about being involved in a world-wide movement about work/life balance and was asked to participate in a conference in Seattle called: Take Back Your Time (www.timeday.org).  She looks forward to helping others ‘take back’ their lives.