Our society sees busy almost as a badge of honor. We revel in being busy, filling every available hour to the brim. Since we can’t make more time, we must pick up the pace and hurry to get it all done. I’m a busy person. I hurry through my day to maximize resources, to develop my full potential.
Today I’m considering… exploring… trying on a different idea. Several people I admire believe that to have a substantial, positive, long-lasting impact, we should ruthlessly eliminate hurry from our lives.
Dallas Willard, Peter Drucker, and John Ortberg recommended this. Coach John Wooden advised his players to “be quick, but not hurry.”
Shortly after he moved to Chicago, John Ortberg called Dallas Willard for advice. He wanted to know how to stay spiritually healthy in the frenetic pace of his life. Willard told him:
“You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life,”
Ortberg wrote that down. He waited for more advice. When none came, he asked what more there was. Willard’s answered,
“There is nothing else. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”
Hurry might be caused by sloppy time estimates or poor planning. Others could perceive it as entitled, greedy, never satisfied, always insecure, presumptuous, and/or selfish. In contrast, love uses time to benefit others. Love sacrifices, hurry doesn’t.
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In traffic, hurry honks, swerves between lanes, tailgates, enters intersections on orange lights, eats, puts on makeup, or shaves while driving. Rage chases other drivers down and displays hand signals to express disapproval of their actions.
The opposite of hurry may be margin, having space in life. Margin leaves early to meet a friend and brings a book or music to enjoy relaxed time if their friend is delayed. Margin schedules fewer things with space between them.
Maybe you are already one of those wise souls who is rarely surprised by the inevitable delays of traffic, weather, or life. Maybe margin and grace are your constant companions. Hmmm, I know other people like you, who don’t hurry. My favorite model was always busy, and unusually effective, but there is no record that he was ever in a hurry.
Has my need to achieve drifted into hurry addiction? Should hurry be the next flaw I need to eliminate?
Where are you with hurry?
-o0o-
Terry Moore, CCIM, is the author of Building Legacy Wealth: How to Build Wealth and Live a Life Worth Imitating. Read his “Welcome to My Blog.”
good advice!
Thanks Terry for sharing this wisdom. I was pondering such things on my drive to my office today. It seems that I get in a hurry most when I am unable to trust in God’s abundance for the provisions he promises. When I find myself hurrying, anxious, stressed I have to ask myself, “Am I trusting God to provide by honoring him with my best, yet balanced efforts?” The answer is most often, “no!” I find myself stressing and hurrying because I don’t trust God to provide so I have to hurry up and make more bricks! Sounds a little bit like I am creating my own slavery.
Excellent reminder Terry! I have had this quotation on the inside cover of my “main” Bible for as long as I can remember. However, I thought it was Ortberg’s quote…thank you for clearing that up. While in theory it makes tremendous sense, it’s application does present a challenge. I like your remedy…arrive early with a good book. So…I’m putting that into practice! Recently, I received as a gift the book “Begin Again” by Max Lucado…which is exactly what I am doing. After thirty seven years in the automotive industry and spending the last twenty two months training in various fields of insurance, He has finally placed me where I believe He wants me to be. My new beginning is with Aflac, offering voluntary supplemental benefits to employees of small to medium businesses. Now I am hurrying to complete the onboarding process so I can get in the field to make some money in a hurry! Ha! What was that you said about hurry? In our culture, it is easier spoken than achieved. But, I will work on it. Again, thank you for the reminder! May His presence overwhelm you today!