Slow Down & Trust the Process

Fast is slow.

Slow is smooth.

Smooth is fast.

Practice makes permanent.

In high school I was part of the Army JROTC. I loved all things military, and I wore combat boots almost 24/7. As a member of the JROTC, my choice to wear combat boots meant that I had to wear them according to Army regulations. If I didn't, then I was opening myself up to ridicule from the instructors and my fellow cadets. Regulation meant that the laces needed to be tied around the top of the boots and tucked inside. If they were left to hang someone would call "snakes" and everyone would crowd around to stomp at your ankles until you fixed them. Additionally, if wearing any form of battle dress uniform or like pant, most people preferred to see the pants bloused (tucked into the boot.)

Having spent my whole life tying my shoes and boots like most people and never blousing my pants, it was tedious learning to wear them this way, especially if I was in a hurry, and required a conscious effort.

Yesterday, before heading out to the store, I slipped on my socks, dawned my boots, and laced them up around the tops tucking the laces down the sides without any thought of what I was doing. When I finished I realized just how easy it was, the whole process taking less that 60 seconds. I hardly wear combat boots anymore, but old habits die hard. Tying my boots this way was second nature to me.

I struggle with autism, ADHD, perfectionism, and crippling fear of failure. These struggles make even daily tasks seem herculean in my mind. I hesitate over everything, thinking: Is this the right time? Should I do this other thing first? What if that happens? Where do I begin? Am I forgetting something? And many other similar questions.

However, the root of my problem is not what you think. It's my fear of failing to accomplish my tasks in an efficient and timely manner, which means without failure. Too often I forget that not starting something, even poorly, means that I am simply increasing my dreaded inefficiency.

In one way or another I believe that we all experience this same thing. Doubt. Fear.

The result of this is typically a rushed attempt to complete everything, which ends with nothing being done or everything being done extremely poorly.

As I stated earlier, I loved all things military when I was in high school, and to a certain extent that is still true today, but now my focus in the "military" realm is more based on preparedness, safety, and tactical thinking, rather than boyhood dreams of honor, glory, and general badassery. I watch a lot of YouTubers and read a lot of blogs and magazines about firearms, survival, and crisis management training. There is one thing that all of them repeat over and over again (not necessarily verbatim,) and I seldom hear it mentioned elsewhere. Perhaps, because the stakes are so high in these fields that it's the only place anyone feels it bears repeating.

Fast is slow.

Slow is smooth.

Smooth is fast.

Practice makes permanent.

I'll try to explain this the best I can.

When you move quickly at something you make mistakes and slow yourself down.

When you move slowly you take longer than you would like, but things get done better and with fewer mistakes (smoothly.)

When you are smooth in completing a task, the task gets done quicker than if you move too fast.

When you practice something through repetition you engrain the process in you subconscious mind and develop muscle memory.

The last part is important. Many people will tell you "practice makes perfect." That simply isn't the case. Practice makes PERMANENT. If you practice something wrong for 8 hours a day for one year, you aren't going to wake up on the 366th day and suddenly do it correctly, let alone perfectly.

Sometimes we all need to slow down and just take the first step. Go through the motions at snail speed and trust the process.

Fast is slow.

Slow is smooth.

Smooth is fast.

Practice makes permanent.?