Progressing Slower Than You’d Like? You’re Probably Right on Time.
The fastest way to take control of something is to slow it down.
Is Faster Always Better?
Have you noticed that we live in a culture where we're told again and again when it comes to success that faster is always better?
30 under 30 lists
Crash diets
Speed dating
“6-figures in 6 months”
Etc.
In this paradigm, it’s tempting to get very frustrated when we're moving more slowly than we’d like, when we’re not “keeping up”.
But consider this:
How many times in your life did you have to drop balls, abandon a project or a promise, or take time off to recover your health because you were moving so fast that you couldn’t hold it all?
For me, my burnout was such a time. After leaving my corporate job I got busy and booked out straightaway, rushing towards arbitrary financial goals. Yet within just 9 months (!) I had to walk away from the freelance business I'd built because I could not hold it all moving at that speed.
In essence, my mind’s goals and my body’s capacity were completely at odds. How does this happen?
The Biggest Existential Joke of Being Human
We can uncover a desire, have an aha moment, get a mental insight in a millisecond. Bam!
But PHYSICALLY creating the space, systems and support to receive that thing on the material plane — not to mention emotionally preparing ourselves to receive all the massive life changes that come with it?
That takes longer than a millisecond. MUCH longer.
As human beings, we get to experience time in two different ways:
The experience of quantum momentum through our imaginations.
The experience of gestational momentum through our bodies.
Daydreaming an entire life plan, financial goal or visualising a new project in seconds is such fun!
But trying to create something from both these experiences simultaneously can feel incredibly frustrating.
And here’s the punchline: your desires and visions are usually 100% true. Your timeframes to make them happen are usually 100% bullshit.
Gestational momentum – where we inch forward gently, take two steps forward and one step back, grow and grieve, and move in spiralling cycles – IS the “real” time, the one we should be normalising and celebrating.
When we create success in our lives, we create it through our bodies. And it takes time to build habits, body memory or learn new skills. It takes time to heal our bodies from physical or emotional setbacks.
Moving only as fast as we can feel ensures that our bodies and the bodies of those in our partnerships, teams and communities are able to sustainably hold all that we want.
The Difference Between Having and Holding
There's a big difference between having something and being able to actually hold it.
It’s much easier to achieve success superficially and fleetingly (and often at great expense to other areas of our lives) than to be able to integrate it, use it well and thoroughly enjoy it.
Holding is only possible when we approach our goals at a slower pace by honouring our gestational momentum.
Because in our “slowness”, we are feeling our way through all of the necessary steps and adjustments, expanding gently, clearing space, and calibrating to new set-points as we go.
If you are moving slower than you think you should in an area of your life right now, what if you decided instead to trust that your pace is perfectly right?
That you're moving at the pace that allows your mind and body to stay together, and it’s that togetherness that is building sustainable foundations that will allow you to hold so much more.
Yes, this work often feels like drudgery, or repeating the same lessons over and over. Sure, it doesn't make for a snappy and shareable post on Instagram. But just because your progress is invisible doesn’t mean nothing is happening.
Honor the Process
I confidently bet that one day, all this “slow” moving is going to make perfect sense.
On that day, when suddenly everything is happening at once and you're expanding at a speed that you didn't know was possible, you will be so grateful you got the chance to get ready to hold your big goal.
There are so, so many beautiful opportunities and triumphs coming your way. And that slow, messy work you’re doing right now – building resilience, practicing receiving, honouring boundaries, repeating those damn lessons – is precisely what is building your capacity to hold and harvest all that is coming.
The fastest way to take control of something is to slow it down.
I’m Imogen and I help people to be more prolific, productive, and present in their life and business.
I do this by developing and teaching unconventional strategies and tools that break cyclical beings free from toxic, unsustainable, and disempowering narratives about work and business to create unstoppable success without burnout or compromise.
If this is something you’re ready to get support with as part of a coaching container, book a free call with me today.
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