Too Fast, Too Furious

Just like in the movies what happens when you continue to live your life, full on and at breakneck speed?

Yep I guess most of us realise the world is progressing too fast and too furious.  Unfortunately I do not think that it’s a great thing – breaking your neck I mean…or on a just as serious note moving so quickly each day we forsake quality across many aspects of our lives. We have also fallen into a deep trap of inventing systems and processes that accelerate and escalate the issue and the madness not only continues to grow but becomes detrimental to everything we are actually trying to achieve.

One of the things in the industry I have been involved with for nearly 30 years is that not only speed bumps, but sadly dehumanisation is costing us customers, relationships and a better quality of life.

If the following sounds a little like you read on, if not great thanks for dropping by.

Are you finding you are …

• spending less time with your loved ones, families and friends?
• stressing constantly about deadlines?
• spending no time with your most important assets – your people?
• repeatedly working overtime, lying to yourself it will only be a for a short time while you get over the current hump? then the next hump and so on…
• letting your health go (just at the moment) while you concentrate on the working side of life? diet and exercise you will find time for later…
• spending no time on yourself? learning, growing and relaxing?
• knowing you can do a much better job with almost everything you are doing but at the moment just need to get stuff done?

Then you are in the game making your own movie – Too fast, Too Furious (and it is not good for you!).

Thankfully the universe will either intervene in one way or another, sooner or later, or you will wake up one day (just like me) and yell to yourself “NO MORE!”

NB: Well in my case I also had a rather large signal from the universe that life was not really that well on track and it jolted me into a wake up call I am so glad I have made. Now how do we get more people on track and start changing the madness?

My background is in recruitment, talent management and career coaching and certainly in my world I believe trying to do things too quickly can be very costly.  Unfortunately in this day and age many of the HR and Recruitment systems and processes are all geared to do a quick but absolutely rubbish job.

Too many organisations have automated their recruitment processes so much in order to move more quickly and “efficiently” – the reality is this is all hogwash, they are actually creating long term issues and these efficiencies are actually destroying their organisations brands, culture and ultimately quality of the people they hire. What they have really done is taken away the personal contact and in my mind the essential art of finding great people – by getting to know great people.

Most of the really successful employers I am lucky enough to work with have jumped back 20 years and changing technology (sometimes disregarding it) using referrals and getting out and meeting people, and thoroughly enjoying the success this brings them.

So is it time to buck the trend?

In my personal life (which is all aspects of my life) I have recently taken back control by slowing things down purposely.   I have made some massive changes including making my health my number one focus.  I am walking sixty minutes everyday and have sorted out a sensible diet.  Saying NO is another thing I am getting better at as I decrease the number of demands on my time each day and focus on a few most important things.

One of our greatest challenges today is planning a day where you can actually get everything you planned for achieved and still have time for the most important people and activities that make life truly worth living.

Let’s zoom forward to the future – you’re dead.  What are the people at your graveside saying about you?  Do they really know you or did you not really get the chance to show who you really were? Did they even turn up or because neither of you really made the time, you have just dropped way down on the list of priorities in their hectic and fast paced world? So did you enjoy your life, and we mean your whole life?  So what if you slowed down and “smelled the roses”, would these graveside conversations been more meaningful? Would the people you loved have turned up in droves and celebrated your life because you always made time for them…

It is one thing to take control of your own life but how do we as individuals stop the madness and get the rest of the world to slow down?

My Answer – By becoming a leader who not only lives and champions a slower life but is seen to be hugely successful .  Yep successful  – I believe if you slow down, be more considerate of both yourself and others around you, success will follow.  Slow down – make time for yourself, the people you love and prosper.

Starting the “Poroire” trend…

Poroire is the Maori word meaning to “be slow” but in this instance I would like us to think about how we collectively create a trend to help people take time to consider both their own quality of life and how they may be able to help others by championing this way of life.

Do you think we can apply being slow sensibly to enhance our work-life and whole of life balance?

I do!  In fact current events in my life seem to be proving just this.  I had recently run myself into the ground, working very hard on projects I am passionate about, that I really believe in and trying to cram as much into each day as possible in an attempt to move things along more quickly.  The reality is my health suffered and I hit a point where I had no other choice but to slow down.

Fast forward (excuse the speed) from now and into the future…

Now I spend a good 20-30 minutes each morning slowing down and thinking ahead, planning my day knowing my first two goals for any day are the following – this is all based off a master plan I created a few weeks ago regarding what I wanted to achieve before I die.

Daily goals list …

Goal 1) Plan the day

Goal 2) 60 minute walk

Then I work out what else I would like to achieve and challenge myself in terms of the time I have to get these things done – remembering that I (like most people) over estimate how much they can do in the day.  This forces me drop items from the list and create smaller lists.  I look at my master plan (mind map so I can see it all in one glance) and consider what is most important right now and follow this through. Then matching this plan to my time available I usually end up with 2-3 major tasks for the day.  Not all of them mean I have completed a major goal that day but they are all working towards those major goals I want to achieve.  I have also started blocking out time during my week in the calendar so that no-one else can steal this time from me and I know I have reserved this time to continue working on my goals. I have also started to plan and purposely block out time for friends and family making sure I have time to connect with those I love.

I confess I do not have this down perfectly yet but now I am moving much more slowly and purposely, and believe I am making great gains.

In terms of my health (#1 goal and should be for everyone – sorry for the sermon) I have lost 12KGs in 6 weeks and are over halfway towards my weight loss goal, the walking also has me much fitter and I am finding I have much greater energy and this is helping me with just about everything else and everybody else I am involved with. My business has not suffered at all and in fact I believe my decision making is so much better things are moving along rather nicely. If we do this collectively will we be able to make major changes that can benefit everyone?

Well I am willing to give it a shot and see what happens – are you willing to join me?

to be continued….

Everyday.