Slow Down

You’ve heard the adage, “If you’re not growing, you’re dying.” I’m not sure who coined it. It doesn’t matter. It’s ubiquitous at this point.I’d like to offer an alternative to it: “If you’re not slowing, you’re dying.”Have you read a book in a while? Slowing.Did you get the audio version of the book and listen to it at 1.5X speed? Not slowing.Have you taken a walk in a while? Slowing.Did it turn into a jog so you could get some cardio? Not slowing.Have you meditated or prayed lately? Slowing.Did you do it while multitasking? Not slowing.Have you personally sat down with a customer, a client, a parishioner and listened? Slowing.Did you take a poll or ask for feedback? Not slowing.Slowing down and nourishing yourself, developing empathy, and breathing deep breaths, is fundamental to any type of growth that will last.People like us that are unwilling to continue in ways like this resist the lie that all growth is equal. We know that slowing down is an investment in our inner growth, which makes us better at what we do out there.