Slow Down, You're Doing Fine
You Have To Go Through The Process
Author Note:
I am going on a break from 31st July (Sun) to 15th August (Mon). I need to rest and recharge my creative batteries before I jump into the August cohort of Ship 30 for 30.
You can read about it, in detail, here.
Since my graduation in 2016, I have been in a rush.
"I have to lose weight."
"I have to set up my online presence."
"I have to make content to grab others' attention continuously."
"I have to be of help to everyone around me whenever they need me."
"I have to make money as soon as possible to take care of my responsibilities."
"I must write and publish a book within a year to validate my taking a different route."
In trying to achieve my goals quickly, I was overdoing everything.
I was over-working.
I was over-exercising.
I was at my loved ones' every beck and call.
I was forcing myself to write a book that wasn't ready to be written.
What was the cost I had to pay for overdoing? Two panic attacks and a psychological scare for life.
In trying to do and be everything at once, all the time, I was unknowingly pushing myself to my grave. I wanted every goal according to my terms and timetable. Silly me forgot that life doesn't work that way. It took me a pandemic and two panic attacks to realise this.
Recently, I came across a song that gave words to my situation. (Thank you, Instagram Reels!) It's Vienna by Billy Joel.
Every sentence of this song made complete sense to me. It felt as if Billy Joel wrote this song exclusively for me. But the couplet that got my attention is the following:
Slow down, you're doin' fine.
You can't be everything you wanna be before your time.
- Billy Joel, Vienna
Isn't this true? If we think about it, we'll know that this is true.
You cannot take out a cake before it's done baking.
You cannot ask for the fruit when you plant the seed.
You cannot be a champion cyclist the first time you sit on a bicycle.
You cannot expect a baby to behave like an adult the moment it is born.
Similarly, you cannot become something or someone before it's your time.
We might rush and reach there (wherever your "there" is), but we will be under-skilled and inexperienced in managing our life. Resulting in more overwhelm, anxiety, burnout, stress and frustration.
But if we go slow and steady, we will grow and evolve along the way. We will learn skills and have experiences which will help us manage our life, all our life. Going slow and unrestrained manner will result in a feeling of calmness, stability and belief in oneself.
Everything good and genuine in life needs its time for maturity.
You have to put in the time and effort. You have to take care of yourself to make sure you are there to enjoy the fruits of your effort. You have to filter out who and what gets your time and attention because you can't be there for everyone and everything at the cost of yourself and your dreams.
To be who you want to be and achieve what you want to achieve, you must go through the process.
You can't blaze through it; otherwise, you'll never learn anything or even get to enjoy the view.
So, slow down. You're doing fine.
