One thing I’ve noticed about myself is that I tend to set very short timescales for my goals. I want to accomplish things as quickly as possible. This often makes me miserable because I overcrowd my day with tasks, thinking I’ll reach the finish line faster. Clearly, I didn’t follow the advice from The Wisdom of Slowing Down—dang it!
The internet age probably fuels this obsession with speed. We see people achieving a lot to what seems like a short time. It could be that these are outliers or people from tech where everything moves fast. And with the leverage and scale of tech, it is easy to make millions or billions at a short amount of time.
But in most industries and careers, real success takes time. It’s a long grind. Patience is not just helpful—it’s essential.
I still believe there’s value in a sense of urgency. But there’s equal, if not greater, value in patience. As the saying goes, patience is a virtue. Urgency might win in the short term, but patience wins in the long run. I choose patience and I choose to enjoy the journey.