Bob takes his time.  He’s really not interested in anyone elses timeline.  His days are a success when he plays, eats, walks, sleeps and gets lots of love.

You know, that’s pretty remarkable.  And sometimes I feel like he’s my life coach.

I live in a city where the ethos is a mad rush to get to some unknown place where who knows what will happen once you get there…. but the believe is that once you do get to this place of accomplishment it’s all going to be paradise.

It’s a rush to percieved fame, a rush to be the fittest, a rush to beautify, a rush to be rich, a rush to be cool, a rush to love, a rush to be the most spiritual, even… Because it’s Hollywood, there are all kinds of percieved ticking clocks and competitions and what I see happening in the rush is terrifying.

Breakdowns, meltdowns, burnout… competing with smart drugs (i.e.: they are still drugs even if they have the word “smart” in them) and amphetamines and cocaine and massive debts piling up in the name of getting “there” faster.  The “there” is often so fuzzy and so abstract that noone really knows where they’re headed and when and if they get there… it’s typically a let down.

Paradise isn’t far off in the distance.  It’s something for right now!

Are you rushing like mad to get things done? 

I’m pretty sure the rushing phenememon is universal these days, but where I live it’s so amplified by the idea of “overnight success” mythology that it’s deafening.

It’s also made it hard for me to accept the fact that slowing down can actually make you go faster.  But… it’s true!

If you’re running around, in a mad dash to keep up with your life, here are lots of compelling reasons to slow down and actually build a brilliant life every day.

If you’re forcing yourself faster in chemical ways– think: massive caffeine, stimulants and even drugs- you’ll flood your body with stress hormones that cause rapid aging, incredible illness and exhaustion both mentally and physically.  This is not a fast-track to any kind of nirvana, but rather, a slow or fast spiral downward.

And if you have forced yourself to go faster in the past and feel completely wiped out from it in a way that equals lethargy, depression and even anxiety from all the speed, THIS brilliant post on overcoming adrenal fatigue and PTSD can be illuminating.

If you’re forcing yourself to go faster by berating yourself or creating unrealistic deadlines that are punishing, you’re working without love on your side.

Self-punishment and self-destruction are often masked as “over-achievement.”  Instead of punishing deadlines, what about creative plans that are created with passion?

If you’re rushing because you desperately need validation, you might want to stop and validate yourself right now… or find the therapy and/or healing modalities that will help you learn to validate yourself.  Chances are that abstract achievements you’re working toward  won’t “validate” you, and that’s the biggest let-down ever.

And… if you’re working really hard to gain the validation of others … this article from Sacha Crouch is illuminating, especially this vital point that leaps out at me:

“start being honest with yourself when you take on a new task or commitment, whether you are doing it because it is “right” for you or because you want to get approval and avoid disapproval.

Sit down and evaluate your weekly tasks and ask yourself what is really necessary and important, and what is driven by people pleasing. Then slowly work through the “people pleasing” list and eliminate them.”

Rushing creates mistakes and a lack of personal power. You can’t be present, grounded, genius and simultaneously trying to speed past things.   Catherine Ponder admonishes readers of her classic book The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity to stop rushing because it takes you out of the flow of prosperity in many ways.

Slow down, take deep breaths and maybe even try some meditation breaks! 

Running through life makes it easy to skip over the emotional depths that are vital to our wellbeing. It’s like going to a therapist, telling them the three minute synopsis of an emotional trauma and expecting to be miraculously restored with peace.  Speeding through relationships (something I used to be awesome at doing!) is another way to ensure that you’ll never have a really connected relationship with emotional intimacy.  You know… zero to 60 and then to zero?  It’s all an avoidance of connection, and connection is how we thrive!

Slow down and you’ll be able to see what is in front of you and feel your way through life moment-by-moment.  When you stop rushing, you get to experience the moment right now, and if you aren’t thrilled about what you see, in the present with calm and focus, you can far more easily change things.

Rushing creates stress and stress is the opposite of any kind of success and survival.  If you feel like you aren’t succeeding or worthy unless you’re in a near-panic rush, THIS video by Dr. Bruce Lipton will illuminate just how much you need LOVE rather than panic, fear or stress to keep your cells buzzing and alive!  

Rather than layer on more compelling data, I’ll urge you to take a long nap or go ten percent slower through your day, try a long walk at lunch and generally slow down.  If you’re adventurous, try it for a week.  I resisted this whole notion until I was forced by life to slow down… and in the slowness… everything started to multiply so much faster.

The best way to see it, of course, is to live it.

I’m wishing you gorgeous days!  xoxo Dana

 

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Welcome to Creating Genius!

I spent the last year creating this e-guide to balancing and unblocking life by pulling together the best of a decade of space-changing and life-shifting feng shui! It’s 50 days and 50 ways to use feng shui to shift your space and your routines to move from “stuck” to creatively inspired and alive.

Start Creating Genius right HERE!

And… As a special bonus when you get the e-guide– a bonus that thrills me!— I’m leading a private Creating Genius + Artist’s Way Group for all of you, to guide you online through twelve weeks of creative awesomeness this year!

Gather up your magic & make gorgeous dreams come true!

xoxo Dana