Can’t we all just stop for a moment? Can’t we at least slow down?
When Fast Company magazine first came out, they had a poster sporting the Hunter S. Thompson quote…
Faster, Faster! Until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death.”
I wanted to frame a copy and hang it in my office back when I was working for a dotcom. It was the perfect sentiment. It represented what dotcoms were all about.
Believe me when I tell you that we loved the speed.
So, what happened to my poster? I was too busy working too fast to stop and order one… before I got my pink slip. It turns out the company was spending investment money “faster, faster” than it was coming in.
Fast-forward about twenty years and people are starting to object. Still hanging on, but beginning to object. Just starting to understand the madness.
I came across this quote in the June 2017 issue of Entrepreneur magazine…
When you press the pause button on a machine, it stops. But when you press the pause button on human beings, they start. You start to reflect, you start to rethink your assumptions, you start to reimagine what is possible and, most importantly, you start to reconnect.”
— from Thank You for Being Late: An Optimist’s Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations, by Thomas L. Friedman
Reading that quote gave me pause. Isn’t this what we’re going for? Isn’t it what we’re really after?
Pause. Reflect. Rethink. Reimagine. Reconnect.
I think that’s it.
I’ll close with one of my favorite sayings…
You’ve got to unplug to recharge.”
Apparently, it helps you to reconnect as well.
This is a big part of my message here at LifeUntucked. What are your thoughts? Faster? Pause? Something else altogether?
p.s. Know someone who might like this post? Maybe forward it or share it on your favorite social media platform. Thanks…
Copyright © 2017 Jeff Meister – All Rights Reserved
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