Saturday, January 8, 2011

The power of slow.

Most of what I've been doing on vacation is scuba diving. Two dives every morning, in fact. Here, moreso than any place I've ever dived, the guides are slow. Their movements are deliberate. They linger and examine their surroundings.

As a New Yorker I've always tried to get places fast. I know every shortcut. The best subway lines. I get things done and done quickly,

Until this trip that was always my approach to diving, too. But going slow has taught me a lot. You see just as much, and you see deeper into what you see. What's more, your air lasts longer so your dives are extended.

I don't know if I'll be able to abate my pace once I return to civilization.

But I may just try.

2 comments:

  1. Good for you! I have found in my research that slow is truly faster and fast is merely exhausting. Welcome to the Power of Slow School of Thought!

    Warm regards,
    Christine Louise Hohlbaum
    author of THE POWER OF SLOW: 101 WAYS TO SAVE TIME IN OR 24/7 WORLD

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  2. I love NY, but one thing I notice is it isn't necessarilly fast that's important.
    It's the theatre of efficiency.
    Whether or not you actually get anymore done you have to appear to be getting more done by running around and shouting.

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