14th August, 2022
Timothy Ferris, an American Entreprenuer and author of The four hour work week once told a story in an interview about a friend of his who was trying to get into shape.
For this he rode his bike a certain distance and tried to cut his time down.
He grinded and grinded at trying to reduce his time. Many months passed but no matter how much he stressed he could not get the time below 46 minutes.
After about 6 months of trying the friend said ‘Enough is enough’ and the next day rode the same distance very casually.
He fully enjoyed the scenery, the sun at his side, the cool breeze as his bike was going along the same path as every day and the sound of the river nearby.
At the end, mainly out of curiosity, he checked how long the route took him this time around.
His watch showed 49 minutes. The friend was speechless.
For the sake of 3 minutes he stressed and worried and grinded and had hated his experience. Because of that he had missed 46 minutes of joy, peace and beauty.
We should also take this advice to heart as well.
We need to understand that just because you take your foot off the pedal slightly does not mean you will suddenly be a dozen times worse.
A small change, a small breather, might be enough to make you enjoy the time that used to be so stressful for you.
Stop worrying and trying as hard as you are. Take a little breather and grind at the speed comfortable to you.
Life happens fast enough already, there is no reason to speed past it all.
Besides, if you just take a moment to catch your breath, you might actually find that life is quite enjoyable. Stop waiting to reach some goal and then relax a bit!
Take your foot of the gas pedal just enough to not stress about the speed at which you’re driving.
This Independence day Weekend, put your foot down a bit, grind if you wish and work and learn and grow, but do it at a speed that you can enjoy the process and stay blessed forever.