One July evening I was channel surfing and caught a commercial for some (stupid) movie debuting in the fall. They were highlighting cozy sweaters and falling leaves, while I wondered why anyone would be ready for autumn. Why should we be rushing to fall, and why are people always trying to rush us through life for some reason or another?
It’s Not Time Yet
I understand that “Christmas in July” is a great marketing tool, and certain types of holiday merchandise—Valentines, Halloween, etc.—needs to appear in stores so people can purchase and use them in the weeks before a holiday occurs. But that does not mean that we want to start experiencing those upcoming seasons yet. This is the height of summer, so why should we be in a hurry to skip ahead 3 months?
It’s Not About Smelling the Roses
When people say you should “stop and smell the roses,” they’re implying that you have some kind of choice between work and not-work. The roses represent the “good” parts of your day that you may be missing by focusing too much on work. But that dichotomy is a false choice—many of our work obligations are good experiences that may be more important to us than social activities. Sometimes, the situation is not that we hurrying through life while caught in a rat race, but instead we’re focusing on some immediate goals, and we’re willing to postpone personal tasks for professional reasons.
What We Can Miss in the Rush
Rather than rushing us to autumn (or whatever Shangri-la we’re supposed to desire next), why can’t we try to identify and enjoy the bright spots in our right-here-and-now? Did you have a personal success at work today? Did something make you smile? Stop for a minute and enjoy that.
Likewise, were you focusing so much on rushing something to the finish that you missed a step? Is something “finished” but you wish you had taken the time to make a few changes along the way? Assuming that you had it to spare, would an extra 10 minutes have made a difference on a project? Did rushing have a cost too?