Value Slow in a Fast World

We live in a world where we increasingly value doing things faster. The underlying tenet of the capitalistic economy is increasing productivity and getting things done/made/delivered faster.

In the process, we also impose in subtle ways the same expectations upon people and more importantly children.

But in almost everything that we do in life, doing it slower is harder, more rewarding and a greater mark of mastery than doing something fast.

When I was learning to ride a motorbike, I always wanted to get up to the second or third gear very quickly. Anybody can drive a bike fast, it takes real skill to drive slowly. I had a much older classmate who was helping me learn and he would never let me go beyond the first gear. It was hard, I fell a few times but when I perfected it, I realised I had much more control.

A dish called the slow braised chicken exists because it is so much more yummy when food is slow-cooked. We rarely have the time to slow-cook anything these days. It is hard to slow cook. It makes you realise the wisdom of the old adage, a watched kettle never boils.

Building a business slowly is the surest way to success. It is also quite hard because getting anyone excited about a business that will grow slowly is not easy. Not customers, not employees and definitely not investors.

We want kids to learn things quickly and get through their developmental milestones fast.

Nobody looks at, what we describe as a child prodigy, and says “What a dumbass, did not even enjoy the time in college”. A lot of winning in life, in fact, comes down to how you engage with people, not how quickly you can learn a subject. How many people who succeed are child prodigies? CEOs, millionaires, hell, even Nobel prize winners!

We need to start valuing ‘slow’ in this world that refuses to slow down.