To Inspire:

Ok, we took a couple of weeks break from the book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by Christian pastor and author John Mark Comer. We’re working through four practices for unhurrying our lives.

The first one we addressed was embracing silence and solitude. Today I’d like to share some of his thoughts on slowing ourselves down. As a protest and antidote to hyper speed living, Comer suggests adopting a new spiritual discipline he simply calls slowing. The concept is simple – slow down your body and we’ll slow down our minds – and our souls with the result that we gain greater peace, calm and inner joy. Comer offers 20 suggestions to “slowing.” Here I’ll offer five of his best:

• Drive more slowly and walk more slowly. Get in the slow lane and relax. Put some classical music on the radio and simply enjoy a more leisurely trip to wherever you’re going. And slow down your walking pace wherever you are. Ahhhhh, isn’t that nice??
• Create a whole new way of thinking about your phone, email, and social media. Here the goal is to set time boundaries as to when you’ll look at your phone, email, and social media – and when you won’t! Be sure NOT to look at all of that first thing in the morning – instead, wake up and spend your first minutes praying or meditating and getting your heart and mind ready to live a grateful, peaceful, and joyful day. Only then should you move to your texts, emails, and social media and for a set period of time. Revisit those again late in the morning, mid or late afternoon and one time in the evening – well before you go to bed. Comer guarantees these simple changes will achieve remarkable results in your inner calm.
• Show up 10 minutes early to everything. Showing up early gives you a chance to collect yourself and reflect or pray about this appointment/meeting, etc. You’ll enter that meeting much more relaxed and ready to truly listen and engage powerfully. Result – more peace and joy.
• Get in the longest checkout line at the store. I love this one. It gives me time to rest, pray for the people ahead of me and just unplug from a busy day. And don’t look at your phone for goodness’ sake – look around, relax, or just settle your mind for a bit.
• Limit TV consumption. Again, moderation is the key. He isn’t suggesting no television; he’s simply encouraging us to limit our television time. Spend the rest of the evening reading, talking with your loved ones, or playing a board game.

SLOOOOOW down and let’s see what results we get. Would love to hear back from some of you – what are you experiencing as you incorporate one or more of these into your life?

Living a great life is living a life that is unhurried, peace-filled, and focused on that which is important. Live that kind of great life – at the end of your life you’ll be so grateful you did!

Written by Matt Palmer, Partner & Co-Founder