Everything is faster nowadays. People are walking faster, cars are going faster, babies are learning faster, startup companies are  closing faster, and companies are burning money faster. Heck, people even came out with stupid competitions such as “who can finish 100 hot dogs in the shortest time” just to see who is faster.

But does becoming faster actually help? Well, it depends on what you are talking about. But for the purpose of this post, let’s talk about life in general.

In my opinion, people should not move fast in life. Here are some of the reasons why.

By moving fast, you won’t be able to enjoy the process of doing something. For example, going for a vacation with your loved ones. Following a tour group has a very different feeling than free & easy (provided you know the way). By following a tour group, you will most likely be rushing against time and not enjoying the moment.

Besides that, going fast will also make you feel tired faster. It’ll drain your energy and your motivation. This happens to a lot of people. Have you ever seen people getting all fired up to do something at this moment, only to give up not long after that? It’s not that this person is not hardworking or motivated. He is! But the problem is, he is so motivated that he burns himself out before long….and he ends up giving up too early before he even manages to create the necessary momentum.

Also, going faster will bring out the worst of human beings – more errors. A project manager who rushes his team members to complete a project ahead of time might end up with a project filled with problems. A student who attends exam cram session might end up remembering nothing during exam. And parents who force their children to study this and that, hoping that their children will gain all the knowledge and become successful in a short time…but they might end up disappointed when their children become too exhausted and lose any interest in learning new stuff.

There you go. The 3 simple paragraphs consist of common scenarios that most of us have experienced or witnessed before. And based on our past experiences, we should know better than moving fast often ruin things. Yet, we continue to do so…pushing and making things faster whenever possible and end up disappointed with the outcome.

Perhaps a change is needed here. Stop pushing everything to be faster. Some things are supposed to be slow. Enjoy the moment, do it with a focused mind, do it properly and create a good outcome.

p/s….. there are things which should be fast….like the renewal of passport, bank operations, etc. But we should not mix up these things with the things that are meant to be slow. Always remember making everything fast often ruin things.

I work in KLCC area (but not sure whether I’ll still be working there few months later) and every time I go to work or come back from work, there will always be a lot of cars rushing here and there….speeding all the way. And when I reach KLCC, there will always be people walking very fast to their office.

It’s either they’re being hasty….or they’re late for work.

To be honest, I was one of them. Time passes by without me knowing it…and things that actually matter didn’t seem to matter. All I have in my mind was work, and work, and work. How to fix that issue? How to get more money? How to present it to the bosses? Even at 7.30am, my brain was already busy working for the company.

And I believe I’m not alone.

In fact, this kind of lifestyle is slowly becoming a trend in this world. We’re just moving too fast in our life. Why? Because to many people, time is a nonrenewable commodity and money, is a very rare commodity which will only appear if you work ‘HARD’.

However, most of us have forgotten the purpose of us being here, in this world – to contribute, and to enjoy life. By being so hasty, we will certainly miss out on a lot of things in life. Ever wonder where has all those DAYS gone? Ever wonder why it is weekend AGAIN? or ever wonder why everyone around us have aged so much while we’re busy chasing after money?

It’s not like those time just go disappear into thin air. These things are happening all around us but we’re just too hasty and too busy to pay attention to such ‘minor’ things.

Our life is passing by too fast, without us knowing it.

Maybe it’s time to slow down a little, and enjoy whatever we have now? Stop driving so fast or walking so fast, try to slow down a little and enjoy the air, or the blue sky, or the morning sun. Spend time with your family and not dig your head deep into the big pile of files.

It’s time to make a change, and it’s never too late to do so.

Last but not least, remember that life is not about rushing here and there. It’s about enjoying the things this world have for you……. but if you’re moving too fast, it’ll be impossible for you to notice them.

So, do slow down once in a while. No point being too hasty