Step-By-Step, Hurry Less

Recently, I have been thinking about hurry sickness. Apparently this is a thing. This is not an actual disease. It is more of a mental state of being. Can you relate to always feeling like there isn’t enough time? As a mom of two littles, who is a full-time working woman, I have spent years always feeling like I’m in a hurry. In a hurry to get to work. In a hurry to do a workout. I hurry to get the kids from point A to point B. I hurry to get home. Hurry to make dinner. Hurry to clean up. Hurry to walk the dog. Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! It’s exhausting. I won’t lie, I would like to hurry up so many parts of my life. Perhaps you can relate to feeling urgency in your life. However, will these feelings of urgency help us? I have come to realize this way of living isn’t going to help me. When I live in a state of constant rush, I only feel emotionally taxed and often physically drained. Living with hurry sickness is only going to make anxiety worse.

Being in a hurry doesn’t help long term. It’s like sprinting: it cannot be sustained. The best approach is just to go step-by-step and trust that IT will happen. Trust the process. Trust each step and the daily effort that is taken.

Getting to the end result isn’t always clear, but just keep going step-by-step. Keep this step-by-step mantra in mind when anxiety hits and the need to hurry consumes you. I am sharing this with you because just this week, I have embraced this new mantra and it has already helped me to let go of living with urgency. Letting go of being in a hurry has helped me to slow down and realize that what needs to get done will get done. In fact, by letting go of needing to be in a hurry I have already been able to enjoy my breakfast more before work. I have been able to enjoy my commute to work more. I have also been able to let go of this need for constant control. I have been able to breathe. 

​I’m going to keep this mantra close to my heart as I look toward what’s in front of me in the present moment. Each moment, I encourage you to work on not projecting too far forward, but just the next step ahead. This doesn’t mean not to plan nor does it mean to wing it. I mean do not be in a hurry for the road ahead and the one you’re on. Do not just fixate on the outcome. Honestly, what are we really hurrying for? Living in a mental state that we are in danger wrecks our autoimmune response system. Time isn’t going any faster with a “hurry all the time” mindset. The need to hurry all the time is a mental trick from anxious thought patterns. Breathe. Just take it one step at a time, and with each step you will get closer. Promise. Trust the process.

If you are struggling with hurry sickness here are some areas of your life that might be out of alignment:

• Your emotions (You might get easily agitated, angry, reactionary) 
  
• You might struggle to stay focused
  
• You might be overly forgetful 
  
• You multitask, but you still feel like you cannot accomplish tasks
  
• Relationship struggles (not really listening, forget important dates, struggle to be present, argue often, feel distant)
  
• Struggle to relax
  
• Trouble sleeping
  
• Changes in your appetite
  
• Fatigue
  
• Digestion Issues/Stomach Problems
  
• Immune System Declines
  
• Headaches
  
• Heart problems (palpitations, high blood pressure)
  
• Anxiety
  

So how does one really embrace the mantra STEP-by-STEP? What things can be done to help with TRUSTING THE PROCESS?  First, let yourself slow down. Give yourself PERMISSION to slow down. The constant multitasking is not helping you emotionally, physically, or mentally. In fact, always rushing is just creating more stress in your life. Slow down! Yet, my advice is to slow down STEP-by STEP. Here are some ways how: 

1. Take Walks
Walking is one of the best things we can do for ourselves. Just a ten minute walk allows us to have a new perspective on life. We can hear the birds, feel the air, get more oxygen and circulation pumping into our body. Walking helps us to calm down emotions, to get a clearer mind, and to just move a bit slower through time. I encourage you to be as present as possible during your walk too. Do not just use your walk to work on your phone. Whatever is needing to be done will still be there when you return from your walk. Just go out into the world and walk, STEP-BY-STEP.

2. Get Present
I have been guilty of this and this is why it is so important to bring to attention. I really encourage you to get present and mindful. If you are working on an email, write the email, but do not try to also answer a phone call. If you are cooking a meal, really focus on the meal. Notice the smells, the textures, the tastes. If you are talking with a loved one, really focus on them. Do not also scroll your social media or do other mindless tasks. Be present. Everything you do in your life do STEP-BY-STEP and notice how you start to enjoy even the simple things more. 

3. Take the Best Possible Care of YOU
Hurrying is not a lifestyle. Hurrying makes me think of sprinting. Sprinting is not sustainable and we cannot go on that way for long. If you are tired, REST. To rest does not make you lazy. We need sleep and relaxation to feel good and to take care of our internal systems. It is also so important to nourish yourself with food and water. If you are always in such a hurry that you forget to eat and hydrate you will crash. No one wants to burn out. When we hit the burn out stage in life it ends up preventing us from doing even the simple things we love. Each day take care of yourself STEP-BY-STEP.

4. Learn to Have Boundaries
Teach yourself to say one powerful sentence: “No.” Taking on more than we can handle does not help anyone, especially ourselves. Do not worry what someone else will think of you by having boundaries for yourself. Your time and your energy are priceless. I advise you to take things on in your life based on highest priority to least priority. Your priorities do not have to be the same as someone else. Only compare yourself to you. Be loving first to yourself. Slow down and trust yourself more. 

5. Build Support
This one could be hard if you are like me and family is not near. However, finding support and building support systems will help you to slow down and be in a hurry less. Learn to ask for help. Let yourself pay for help if you see it is a major priority. This could be paying for childcare, or a therapist, or a bodyworker, or a housecleaner. We don’t have to do everything on our own. When we understand we are not alone it also helps us to trust more, let go, slow down, and take each day STEP-BY-STEP


Please let me know what you think of this mantra. Does it resonate with you? Let me know what you think of some of the strategies to help you slow down. You don’t have to do all of them. Maybe journal about your relationship to hurrying. What comes up for you? What do you notice? I would love to hear back. 

Love,

Brenna