Why I Decided To Take It Slower, Start Habits And Stop Setting Goals
A Self-Help Guide.
Your passion should be a working-construction of a carefully crafted masterpiece.
I want to talk about the importance of taking things slow. I tended to want to be as productive as I could, but this is not always the right way of going about things.
Sometimes it is okay just to let go and let yourself take time with a task. You are meant to enjoy it, I used to read 1–2 books a week and yes, I did manage to retain the story/message or lesson. Even so, I did not have time to properly analyse my thoughts on what I thought about the book and what I really took away from it. Yes, you have a million things you want to do but if you take time and care they will normally be more rewarding. I remember when I was younger, doing woodwork with my Dad. I always wanted to get it out of the way but because I was so keen to get it “over and done with” it meant that it took so much longer. My Dad always says measure twice mark once, this stuck with me and I never really realised how important this is.
I think in the current age of technology and instant gratification, we are fuelled off dopamine hits. I think this attitude affects us because we set ourselves these goals but before we finish the first, we move onto the next. Instead take your time, it does not matter how long it takes, if it is something you are working on, it will not be an overnight success, you will probably fail. That is just a part of the process.
I feel taking it slow is undervalued, my girlfriend frequently tells me “you are not a robot” but sometimes I think I am. We tend to glorify quantity over quality, when results are made more from quality rather than the quantity you produce. Let us say you are like me; you want to be a journalist. Then you should be not charging through trying to produce as many articles as you can per year. You should use your time to carefully craft a perfect piece, that eloquently and elaborately explains and expresses your views and ideas. Be brutally honest with yourself and instead of striving for perfection aim for mastery of your chosen career. This is your passion and hence a constant art piece that you are trying to fine tune into a masterpiece.
This is the main reason I went from setting goals to establishing routines. If you are going to do something, you need to do it the right way to be able to reap the benefits of said activity. Setting goals is quite inefficient, by establishing routines instead the tasks are more likely to stick and the habits will surpass the aims set by your goals. I personally use Todoist and Time Tune apps to help me work out when I have time to do things and to remind myself of what I want to start doing. Goals limit you by your own expectation. As we all tend to have either too low or too high expectations of ourselves. Establishing routines and habits is the foundation of surpassing your own expectations.
