Don’t Rush

James Clear is well-known for his work on the power of establishing habits; if you don’t recognize his name, surely you’ll recognize his book, Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results. I’ve been following James for years–before he launched his bestselling book (a little fun fact: thanks to the power of Twitter I actually interviewed James on my All About Your Benjamins Podcast), and it might come as a surprise, but he doesn’t just write about habits.

I came across a quote of his recently,

“Don’t rush, but don’t wait.”

Act with urgency, but release yourself from the need to achieve it on a particular timeline. When you think longer term than most, you can think bigger than most.

If it takes years, start now.”

As I shared in yesterday’s note, I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of the “flow of life” after reading The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer, and when I think about James Clear’s quote, I can help but see the connection between taking control of our life through our thoughts, emotions, and energy, “don’t wait,” but allowing the flow of life to take us to where we are supposed to go, “don’t rush.”

When you know where it is you would like to be going, it’s important for you to put in the work, make necessary changes, and believe in your ability to become that version of your Self, but there comes a point where your efforts to speed up you Pursuit might disrupt the flow of life, which is why Clear’s follow up to the beginning of his quote is so important–“release yourself from the need to achieve it on a particular timeline.”

I’ve listened to podcasts, watched talks, and read books that suggest we should share exact details, including timelines, for the goals we are pursuing, but that never felt right to me–although for some individuals, it might be the right formula.

So, how do you know when to stop “doing” and be patient to let life’s flow take over?

I would start with listening to your intuition and doing what feels natural. The second your actions seem like you’re reaching or trying too hard, it might be time to stop your action and wait. See if the combination of your beliefs, actions, and energy with the flow of life doesn’t take you exactly to where you want to be or, better yet, somewhere better than you could have imagined.

See you tomorrow and keep pursuing,

JC