We currently live in a world that is running on a treadmill. TIME has become our most important asset. People and companies are investing research and money to create infinite technologies and innovations that will help us move EXPEDITIOUSLY—in order to achieve more tasks in less time. The reasoning behind this IMPATIENT MINDSET, we’ve adopted, is that the more we speed up things—things that are slow by nature—the more we’ll accomplish. “It’s like every day is a race against the clock (Honoré)” because we’ve forgotten how to take a pause. With Mocks around the corner I’ve felt the pressure to stop my relaxation mood I carried around in January and study for long periods during the week. So, my February routine, so far, has gone like this: I wake up early in the morning (at around 7:30am-8:00am) exercise, study Math and Biology until lunch time, then I either go to an appointment or meeting, work on other things related to school, go to my driving lessons, read or study for my driving exam, and sometimes meet up with my family or friends. Yes, my days are FULL and sometimes I don’t even get the chance to COMPLETE everything that I planned for the day. My head goes at 100km/hr. It’s only Thursday, the fifth day of the month, and my brain is EXHAUSTED. Even though I’ve done a great deal, it feels like I haven’t accomplished anything, especially in my studying because I don’t feel I’m retaining the information. We are in mid-summer vacation and all of a sudden I sense that back to school mood where I forget what taking a B R E A K truly means. As I look back to January I’ve realized how despite having AGITATED week days during the weekends, when I'm at the at the beach, the days felt longer and I was able to experience the meaning of a break. WHY? Because I wasn't doing thousands of things and running around all day. As I HUSTLE through my February days I feel unproductive, although I’m trying to do the opposite. A few days ago I read an article that talked about how the MORE we commit the LESS we accomplish. The author of the article mentioned how This is exactly what happened to me, I was forgetting to EMBRACE and CLINCH those important summer moments. MORE is not always MORE, and MORE is not always better; the more we try to take on the less productive we are and the more burned out we become. Therefore, today, I forced myself to S T O P, to stop doing, and take that pause. As much as I want to get most of my studying done over vacation, overwhelming my days and waking up earlier to have more time to WORK won’t help me enjoy my summer break and memories as I need to, after a long head breaking semester. Therefore, I’ve decided to quit this CULTURE OF SPEED that I’ve forced myself into, and I will take on less everyday to seize what is important and accomplish more work carefully. STILLNESS is hard to attain, but once you manage to REACH that state you realize how much you miss out when you R U N. When accelerating through my studying I wasn’t absorbing anything because I was jumping from one point to the next and from one subject to another. The less we do the more ATTENTIVE we are and the more we ABSORB. Therefore, by focusing on fewer things for shorter periods of time my brain will be able to grasp better. Furthermore, when you focus on less you are able to appreciate the moment at a higher level. Doesn’t it happen to you that when you go to a party, to a friends house, or a place you are always looking at the clock because you want to know how much time you have left--you don’t want to leave soon. Well the more you pay attention to time the faster it passes because your head is RACING. When I go to the beach, I completely forget about everything and focus on myself, my days seem longer and it feels that I accomplish more. When I go to the beach I take these long pauses that fill me up with joy and let me seize the moment. So for the rest of the summer, I will stop racing and pace myself to accomplish what I set myself up to no time, but I will also STOP to enjoy those small moments in life.
2 Comments
Corey Topf
2/14/2015 06:10:32 pm
Rue! Your post made me a think about a book I just read called "Brain Rules." One of the things it talks about is how much content we forget in school. It said 90% of what we learn is typically forgotten within 72 hours. Yikes! It also mentions that stress and lack of exercise contribute even more to forgetting. Excellent post as always, and the picture of the man carrying the balloons at the beach is beautiful. You took that, didn't you??
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Andrea Hurtado
2/24/2015 01:27:54 am
Hey Corey!! thank you! No I didn't take the picture, I wish I did jaja, but I just edit it!
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