The Paradox of High Performance – Slowing Down to Speed Up

Have you ever run a race only to notice that somewhere along the way, your shoelace became untied? There’s one voice that tells you to keep going and that it’ll be fine. But the other voice in your head says that it’ll only take a couple of seconds to stop and tie it so you can run the rest of the way, carefree. 

At first, the “go for it” voice wins out and you notice you’re making great time. But then it happens. The moment you’ve been hoping to avoid, strikes. You wipe out, scrape up your knees, are finally able to tie your shoe, but notice a distinct limping in your stride going forward, slowing you down, and ultimately not being nearly as successful as you were on track to be. 

Slowing down to speed up is akin to stopping to tie your shoe in a race. Because when you do, you realize that it is a necessity for your success.

Let’s look at another example. 

Nutritionists, dieticians, and doctors will all tell you that a great aid in losing weight is to chew your food more. It’s seen as a helpful aid in your weight loss progress. Feeling full sooner rather than later will help you with eating less as well. Slowing down your eating, therefore, is a step to take when wanting to speed up your weight loss.

And while the above two examples apply to you personally, what about in your professional life? After all, we’re in a world of needing things right away, right now…if not sooner. Gotta put that complete and total focus on getting it all done right away so you and your company can make more money. Sound familiar?

And this can on occasion be a necessity. Some situations are unavoidable when doing something quickly is of the essence. However, in most cases this doesn’t hold true.

Have you ever had to do a report for your boss? You’re thinking, “I’ve got plenty of time, so I’ll start it tomorrow.” Then tomorrow turns it into the next day. And just when you’re finally going to do it, a client unexpectedly needs some extra help, so you push it off another day.

And then it happens. It’s the day before your report is due. A bit of panic sets in but you reason that you know what you need to put into it and you get it done. Not right at the deadline, mind you, but with a whole 15 minutes to spare. Then you exhale.

Until…

You get called into your boss’s office and they point out that you have made several mistakes, rendering your report useless, and having to be resubmitted.

And for the record, nooooo, I’ve neeeeevver done something like this. Not me. Nope, Never.

How about this one, fellow speakers? 

You get hired for a keynote to take place in front of about 1,000 people and you are stoked. The date you have to be there works out, the money is right, expenses are being paid, and you have three months to put together your greatest talk. It’s a topic you have a great deal of knowledge about, have talked on before, and though you’ll have to change this one up quite a bit, you reason that you can wait a bit, bask in the delight of landing this gig, and really think this one through.

Sounds good so far, plus you’re letting your thoughts “marinate”, getting your best ideas to come front and center, and once you officially start putting it together, it’ll be an easy time. So, you wait. Then you wait a little longer. No problem, you still have three weeks before you have to get your slides into the meeting planner. No biggie. Until it is.

Because just like with our friend doing the report, things come up. Perhaps it’s a new client you landed, pleasantly, but unexpectedly, that will require immediate attention; a family issue arises that requires you to take a few days off; or maybe, you’ve reasoned, it’s all in my head and all I have to do is put it on the computer. Easy.

And I know you realize how this story ends. With a talk that is described as, at best, “Meh”. Sure, you’ve covered important points but were you at your best? Did the client receive what you told them they would? And the painful question to answer, “Do you think they’ll hire you back?”

With our report due and speaking opportunity examples, how can slowing down benefit you?

When you begin putting things together sooner rather than later, you’re able to do so in a slower, clearer-minded, more controlled fashion. You get, for example, the benefits of reading it over several times. You get to verbalize it more often making sure it sounds as good aloud as it does in your head. You get to do a deeper dive into researching your talk. It allows you to make mistakes that you discover and can effectively remedy long before a project is due. You can now “play” a little with different thoughts and ideas about how you want something to look, read, or sound…and then still have time to make any necessary changes.

The results are tighter, more effective reports that are well received and regarded. You receive louder and longer applause, sensational testimonials, new and additional opportunities, and the knowledge and understanding that you nailed it!

Slowing down to speed up is about not just getting results but getting the results you desire. For yourself, your client, your company, and for your future.

So, take a deep breath, clear your mind, and get started now so you can achieve the high performance and results you know you are capable of.

The Paradox of High Performance – Slowing Down to Speed Up is the latest in a series of talks and workshops by Anthony DeNino. He is the Founder of CORe – Creating Our Reality, where Mindset Meets Strategy, and proudly donates 10% of every dollar earned from new clients to one local and one national, nonprofit organization. He has wowed audiences on stage during Keynote addresses, turned individuals and departments into high performing, successful teams, and as a Mental Performance Consultant, works one-on-one with individuals and leaders helping bring out the most successful version of themselves. Anthony is a published author of the book, The Power of Giving and Gratitude! and works with small and mid-sized companies, large corporations, nonprofit organizations, associations, and government agencies. Please learn more at www.CreatingOurReality.com.