365 Days With Self-Discipline: 365 Life-Altering Thoughts on Self-Control, Mental Resilience, and Success

Day 350: On Doing Things Deliberately

Working  slowly  in  today’s  world  goes  against  every  thought  system.

You can only work slowly if you do it deliberately. Being deliberate requires

you to stay in the process, to work in the present moment.

—Thomas Sterner

 

350

In rock climbing, when you’re clipping the rope into a quickdraw and

you  rush  it,  your  movements  will  be  imprecise.  In  the  end,  with  rapid

movements it will take you more time to clip in the rope than if you were to

do it slowly.

Working deliberately, particularly when the stakes are high, takes a lot

of self-control. You need to battle against the temptation to rush things and

maintain your concentration when stress threatens to consume you.

Doing  things  fast  —  but  not  necessarily  well  —  isn’t  a  particularly

good  strategy  for  achievement.  In  fact,  it’s  usually  the  slow,  deliberate,

poised movements that lead to great outcomes, and not rushed, nervous, or

impulsive actions.

Identify  when  your  behaviors  are  hasty  and  unfocused  and  take

advantage of such opportunities to exercise your willpower by doing things

slowly and with precision.

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