Being In Too Much of a Hurry While Living Your Life
In all your routines and activities each day, take time to slow your pace at times so you can add variety and enrichment in your life.
By Leland E Pulley
In my city there are two major freeways near my home. Each has three lanes going in each direction. The speed limit is 70 mph. When I drive in the right-hand lane going 60 miles an hour, guess what happens? Cars pass me up like I'm holding up traffic. They want to go into the middle lane where cars are moving 75 miles an hour or the far-left lane with cars going 85 miles an hour. Why are they in such a hurry? This is not truly an emergency or an odd situation. This is normal driving for most people around here. Rush-rush-rush; hurry-hurry-hurry; impatience- impatience- impatience; stress-stress-stress. These drivers are creatures of habit. Their message is get out of my way because I am important, and I need to get some place as fast as possible. Do they consider the needs and wants of other drivers? In a way I feel sorry for them because as they rush down the freeway, they are also rushing down the road of life. And I claim that too many people really do not know where they are going in life as much as they should and can.
As we adults get older, it becomes obvious that time goes by faster. Add to this the hurry-hurry-hurry way of living and time goes even faster. What is the point of all this? Life is supposed to have more meaning than merely checking off the days, weeks, months, and years. Yes, there are duties and responsibilities and other demands, but there also should be time to stop the clock and consider what you're doing with your life. There needs to be time to enjoy the moments, especially the precious ones. There needs to be time to smell the flowers and enjoy nature. There should be time for other people as well as oneself. To all you younger adults out there who may be reading this article, I know exactly what I am talking about. Take some advice and do not rush through life. Otherwise, as you get older you will begin to regret what you have missed out on. You will also recognize that too many decisions were made with too much haste and therefore you had more wrong decisions or poor-quality decisions than you should have had. Do not do this to yourself, you deserve better.
If you do not believe me, then find someone in your family or at work or in your neighborhood who has retired. Ask them about their perspective on time and being in a hurry. Did they rush through life and miss out on some wonderful things when they were in their 20s, 30s, 40s, or 50s? Do they have any regrets now about how they lived? If they are open and honest with you, they will confess what I'm saying in this article. You would be smart to not only think about what I'm writing here, but to listen to the words of these older people. You see their basic needs at a younger age are no different than your basic needs at the same age.
Another caution is that when I or you get in a hurry, there is less time to investigate and do research. There is less time to seek the advice and counsel of others. There is less time to pray and ponder before making a final choice. And this leads to more mistakes than necessary and poorer quality decisions. So, if you care about your life and seek happiness, contentment, and fulfillment; then slow down a little and use more wisdom in how you live.
Let us go back to the example of the freeway at the beginning of this article. Most metropolitan driving is usually 10 miles or less in length to reach a destination. If I go 60 miles an hour and go 10 miles on a freeway, it takes only 6 minutes. If I go 70 miles an hour for the same 10 miles, it is only 8.6 minutes and for 80 mph it is only7.5 minutes. Do the math! Is the higher speed and more stressful driving worth the couple of minutes saved? Merely leaving a few minutes earlier allows for a more casual drive, as well as unexpected delays on the freeway itself.
Although this article utilized freeway driving to illustrate a point, the application carries over to all aspects of our lives. Personal life, marital and family life, employment, citizenship, and all types of activities should be approached patiently and wisely. There will be less mistakes and regrets and more joy every year and decade of your life.
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