I love Efficiency.
I love the feeling of completing something without wasting any time. I love it when meetings are productive. I love it when my day is planned and things go as planned.
Do you ever feel like things in your life should run smoothly, be easy, and go as planned in order to feel efficient and productive?
I do.
Unfortunately, life doesn’t always go as planned. In fact, half of the time life is hard, unexpected and requires more effort than we might have thought necessary or are comfortable with.
Many years ago in college, a friend and I signed up to run a 10 k race. I was not in the greatest shape, I had put on the expected “Freshman 15”. I was not even exercising regularly let alone running and I had never done a 10k race before.
I was totally naive about the training and conditioning that running a 10 K race requires.
I told myself that it would be no problem. When others asked what I was doing to prepare I shrugged it off.
I believed I could do this race and just save the effort for race day and that would be good enough.
I didn’t want to waste time beforehand preparing when I could just show up on the day of the race and get it done. I love being efficient, after all!!
Race day came and it wasn’t long after I started the race that I began to trail behind the other runners. I was getting cramps, I was in pain and panting for breath. I felt like I was running in slow motion.
Although I finished the race, I also came in dead last. I was exhausted, in pain and suffered for the whole next week with sore muscles.
It was in the moments following that race that I realized that I had been anything but efficient in my preparations for this day.
Our brains will always serve us the option that seems super efficient at the moment. Does that always mean it is ?? Definitely NOT. Very often the option that seems efficient in the moment actually keeps us stuck.
Being efficient doesn’t always mean things will be quick and easy. What it does mean is if we prepare, plan and make an effort today then things will be so much more efficient in the future.
This applies to any area of our life. Put in the work now and you will live a happier more efficient life in the future because you have done the necessary training and work today to get there.
I am always in such a rush to complete the race that I want to skip over the preparation for it.
I have to remind myself on the regular that “Rome wasn’t built in a day”. Little things daily equal greatness over time.
Winning the race is a process.
Practice patience and compassion for yourself wherever you are on the road to your future self.
Remember, “Slow and steady wins the race”. -Tortoise
