Slow Down to Speed Up

A number of years ago, I took my kids to the Indy 500. It was an experience we will never forget.

The power and speed of the race cars were awesome. The roaring sounds and the rumbling of the seats was a full-body experience. We were all wide-eyed and glued to the action from beginning to end. Topping out around 225 mph, an Indy car is incredibly fast. The Indianapolis 500 is the largest spectator event in the world, with approximately 300,000 people in attendance.

We had the privilege of sitting in an area called the Paddock. The start/finish line is in front of these seats as well as all of the pit stop stations. As exciting as it was watching the cars race by, it was nearly as exciting to watch the pit crews speedily go to work on the cars during the less than 15-second pit stops. Every second counted and we would have fun timing them. Over the course of the 500-mile race, cars make 8-10 pit stops.

The pit stop is a critical part of the race. It’s fascinating to watch cars at a complete standstill while other cars are blowing past them at more than 200 mph. It seems it would be tempting to panic and short circuit the pit stop for fear of falling behind. But the reality is, without these stops, done in a disciplined, intentional way, there is no way a team would win the race. And it is a team event. As important as the driver and the car are, the pit crew plays just as an important role in winning the race.

The dynamics of this race are a metaphor for life. We are all in the race of life. We can go so hard that life passes us by and we risk losing track of why we are racing so fast. If we don’t stay disciplined about taking regularly scheduled pit stops, we will most assuredly overheat and burn out. It’s important to recognize that the pit stops (sleep, quiet times, weekends, physical exercise, vacations, offsites, etc) are just as important as the other racing activities. In order to have success in all aspects of life, we need to have a healthy engine, taking care of our minds, our bodies, our families and other relationships. Our professional lives will have more success and be more fulfilling, when we get our priorities right, understanding our purpose and our calling. We have a much better chance of having clarity of these critical priorities when we stay disciplined about taking our pit stops.

At Ozinga our purpose is to have a positive impact on individuals, their families and the community for generations. We believe we are called to the particular race we are in. And yet, the fast track of the business world, the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for more, can easily distract us from our purpose and choke out the joy of our calling.

We learn time and time again that we need to slow down in order to speed up, trusting the process and staying disciplined in executing it. We need to be continually reminded that it is the process itself where our purpose is accomplished, as opposed to outcomes we chase. Our identity and value need to be rooted in our purpose, not outcomes that are largely out of our control. This is ultimately where peace and contentment lie, not in breaking another speed record.

We’re confident when keeping the purpose as our target, we will be successful in the race of life, winning at what we care most deeply about - impacting people. That’s what success looks like to us. That’s what will last. That’s the legacy we pray will live on in future generations long after we have crossed the finish line.