Slowing Down to Speed Up
By Traci Wagner
“You should sit in meditation for twenty minutes every day – unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour.”
I first heard this quote several years ago, and my immediate response was a laugh. I mean, it’s meant as a joke, right? A cute way of encouraging people to meditate more? Actually, the real humor is that the statement is paradoxically true!
When you’re really busy, feeling stressed, and your nervous system is in fight-or-flight mode, you may think that you can’t afford to slow down. The pressure to do something and take action can be overwhelming. Spending your time doing something like meditation logically seems like a waste of time when there are so many other things that need to be done. However, there’s an important difference between spinning your wheels as fast as you can and taking a series of inspired actions.
When you’re too stressed, you get tunnel vision. You can’t see all the options available to you through the fog of stress. Your mind is racing with thoughts and closed off to hearing anything new. You’re more apt to make mistakes, which then require more time and effort to correct. When you’re out-of-sync, you could work non-stop for hours and still make little or no meaningful progress.
Pausing and re-centering yourself is one of the best things to do when you’re super busy and feeling overwhelmed. A short five to ten minute meditation can really refresh your body and clear your mind (sometimes it does take longer, depending on the situation!). If you don’t yet know how to meditate, you can simply stop and take some deep breaths for a few minutes, paying attention to your breathing. This small and simple step interrupts your stress pattern, allowing the opportunity for change.
When you slow down, your mind gets quieter. Then you’re able to hear your inner guidance, your intuition. The fog clears, and from this new vantage point you can see a wider range of options that you previously weren’t able to see. Brilliant new ideas come to you out of nowhere. You’re more in tune with yourself and able to make better decisions. When you’re in the flow, working quickly is easy and you can accomplish a tremendous amount in a short period of time.
Slowing down doesn’t mean that you’re accomplishing less. By slowing down you’re able to work smarter, not harder, and actually speed up your results. By taking just a little bit of time to realign and refocus your energy, you become more empowered and poised.
Are you interested in learning meditation or other ways to reduce stress? Reach out to me at bewell@traciwagner.com. I will send you my set of mini-meditation recordings and direct you to other resources to help you get started.
About the Author
Traci Wagner, MD
Energy Healer | Spiritual Coach | Meditation Instructor
