Almost everything is possible when you slow down.

The only reason it seems hard to slow down is because we’re viciously screaming at ourselves to speed up.

Slowing down is, in fact, the ease-y-est thing one can do. It requires zero effort. That can be read two ways. Both are true but the second reading is more instructive:

  1. Slowing down requires ZERO effort.
  2. Slowing down REQUIRES zero effort. 👈👍

The reason it’s so hard to release effort is because our entire society is fully bought in to the notion that the way you get things done is through force, coercion, effort. We can say we don’t believe these things but they are fully internalized.

It takes a big leap of trust to consider:

  1. What if I stopped yelling at myself about the book I haven’t written?
  2. What if I stopped trying to force myself to exercise or “eat right” (whatever the fuck that is)?
  3. What if I let go of this Drill Sergeant voice?

Or does it?

Let’s appeal to the “reasonable,” “grown-up” part of you for a moment: What’s the worst that could happen if you gave up self-coercion for, say, one hour? Five minutes? One breath?

Think you’ll be worse off?