Shared Experiences

No hurry, no pause

by Carina Olival / May 4, 2017

Last week, in my English class, Justin shared a chapter from Tim Ferriss’ book, “Tools of Titans“. The chapter was called”Testing the “impossible”: 17 questions that changed my life” and was about some questions that changed the author’s life.

In my opinion, some of these questions are very interesting, mostly because they make us think about the way we are spending our time. The one that caught my attention the most was one called “No hurry, no pause“.

Ok, actually it isn’t a question, but it still made me reflect about my personal anxiety and the way I see things.

In his book, Tim Ferriss mentions an expression from Breema’s (a form of bodywork) “9 Principles of Harmony”. I decided to check the 9 principles and, as I could see on their website, the 9 principles can be applied to any activity in life.

“When you rush, time shrinks. When you’re relaxed, time expands. This is true even though it’s very hard for the mind to get. When you’re relaxed and doing something willingly, you’re participating in life.” From “Freedom Is in This Moment”

In my reflection, I realized that I used to be very future oriented. I mean, I always had to have a plan, which meant that when I didn’t have one, I just started getting extremely anxious and confused. Every unexpected event made me feel that way. Plus, I was always in a hurry, because I really wanted to get and do everything I had planned. Guess what? I simply couldn’t have everything under control.

A few years ago, I started changing myself. I still have my plans, of course, but I finally understood that changes can be opportunities. Give them a try, instead of ignoring them. Sometimes, it can be the best thing to do. Many times, I realized that what I want can be achieved in a better way. All I had to do is take some time to reflect whether I really want to participate in life or just go through it. For me, that’s one of the best lessons I ever learned. Actually, I’m still learning it.