Why so fast? Are you moving at the speed of light?

Have you ever felt that you were moving at the speed of light?  Do you understand what time and speed have in common?  If you are familiar with Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, the theory says that as speed increases time slows down. You might remember the famous paradox about the space traveler going away on a long journey and coming back younger than his or her parents.  How can this be true you might say? Well, according to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity it is true.  As we approach the speed of light, time slows down. Wouldn’t it be great if we could we use Einstein’s theory to help slow our day down and get more done?  If we could move at the speed of light, time would just about stand still.  Just think how much stuff you could get done.  However, if everyone moved at the speed of light, then relatively speaking, time would not move any slower for you.  This technique would work only if you or a few others were moving faster than everyone else.  

In practice, we all seem to be working on the presumption that if we could just move fast enough we could get more done.  This negates the overall benefit and we become like rats on a wheel. All of us are running and running and just staying in the same place.  Target company has a motto or credo that says something like "Fast, Fun and Friendly."  How many workers do you know who are moving fast and feel like they are having fun?  And if they are not having fun, do you really think they are going to be "friendly" to the customers. More like, "get out of my way jerk, I have things to do and my boss says I better move faster."  

We move faster and faster and faster but paradoxically we seem to get less and less done. I took a class in motorcycle racing once and the key message of the instructor was “You must first learn to go slow before you can go fast.”  Most of us think that by going faster we can accomplish more.  In many cases, we only accomplish less since our haste results in more rework and having to do things over again.  Most of the organizations that I have met that do not have "real" time for their customers eventually perish or they become second choice to the consumer. 

Today, concentrate on moving slower.  Forget the speed of light.  See if you can study your motions; watch your body move more slowly, exert less effort and try to move at the speed of a snail.  What differences could this make in your life? Can you do this for one whole day? Why not? What keeps you moving at the speed of light?