20 Jul Faster is not always better

I feel like I am always in a race to beat someone.  Yes I know it is a farce, but it is an internal hangup I have struggled with for years.  I always try to be places early, I regularly complete projects before their due dates, and I always feel the need to move my business into industries or spaces before anyone gets there.  It is exhausting running a race against an opponent that either doesn’t exist or doesn’t know you’re secretly trying to beat.

Yesterday I stopped over in Molokai for a few hours, took a quick drive with some new friends and immediately flew back to Oahu. We were literally on-island for only a few hours. It was my first time flying on Ohana by Hawaiian which is a small, propeller plane (on which my backpack barely fit in the overhead bin) and it was a pleasant experience. As we approached into the island, I immediately noticed how different the landscape of the island was/is and knew this would be a very different type of place.
Every Island is unique in its topography, its population and its culture, but the thing that struck me even more than anything else was the pace. Living on Oahu in the heart of the Honolulu, we are inundated with traffic and high rise buildings and the pace of life just moves at a faster clip, but on Molokai, everyone moves, talks and lives in a different speed… and I loved it.

It felt like I was on vacation just being there. We didn’t drive fast, it didn’t feel like we were in a rush to see or do anything specific and that instantly lead to a feeling of calm and contentment. I didn’t feel like I needed to check Instagram to see what anyone else was doing because I was just enjoying what I was doing. There’s just something about that vibe I personally enjoyed and almost missed when I landed back on Oahu.

Maybe what that means is I should start slowing some things down a bit so I can enjoy more of the life I work to have. Enjoy the times I have with my wife, my family and friends rather than rushing out of lunches to get back to work.

I am definitely going to try to dedicate more intentional time to slowing moving moments in life rather than rushing from thing to thing.