Speed

When was the last time that you stopped to just admire something?  I imagine if you are anything like me it has been a while.  Sure, you watch a TV show or movie and you take that time to enjoy it, but look at what that is all about.  They cram an entire set of information into twenty minutes, or forty five, or an hour and a half.  Have you ever stopped to notice how fast they are winging information at you in order to catch you up to what is going on?  Even if they do it subtly they need to teach you that Man X is an overworked business owner that can't seem to catch a break.  Man Y is his wacky buddy that is always there for him, etc etc.  

And they get away with it because we just sit back and let them throw stuff at us quickly.  However, we are not taking a moment to step back from life during this time, are we?

Now I am not saying I am not guilty of this, see above with me admitting it has been a long while.  The point is, though, when did we let ourselves do this?  It has gotten to the point that this has been a new genre of movie. Holywood is cashing in on the fact that we are not satisfied with letting life pass us by.  But what do we do about it?

For the most part, nothing.  At least until our minds are close to popping. 

I have honestly gotten to the point most nights that I can't even sleep without pausing to collect my thoughts and lay them out in a row.  I have to purposefully slow my world down and then I can sleep.

But why did we get this way?  Well, I can't say for you, but I think I know why I do it.

Because I want to get past the boring stuff and get to the fun stuff.

Think about it.  How often do you rush something at work just to get it done the bare minimum so that you can take a break and not have to do any work for a while.  Especially if your boss thinks that it will take you longer to accomplish that goal.

My problem is that I tend to rush through the work and then move on to the next bit of work.  This can sometimes lead to some mistakes, or lead to things that need to be fixed later. I have finally gotten to the point where I can admit that about myself. Of course this does not help when I don't change what I am doing to slow down and do it right.

To me, speed is a means to an end, but when I have the time, I need to learn to slow down and take it.  Some of you know that I am an accountant.  This is not a job that can have mistakes in it, and I try my best to make sure that I have none.  However, when speeding through something I can make mistakes.

You want to know the sick part though?  I like accounting.  It is fun to me.  Data entry is not a chore to me, it is somehow fun.  I am sick, I know.

So why do I speed through it?  Simple, I want to look like a miracle worker.  Boss thinks something will take all day, I do it in half to just seem that much better.

The lesson I have learned, and keep learning, is that maybe I should slow down, make sure that things are done right.  Then I can take two thirds of the day, still seem like an awesome accountant... and have everything be perfect.

A lesson that we should teach our children.

And I took 29 years to learn it.