Where I live in Southern Ontario, Canada, the major four+ lane highways have speed limits of 100 kph (60 mph). Yet even in the slower right hand lane the average speed is close to 115. Some days, it's 120! The middle lane and passing lane average speed is well over 120. And rising.

In our neighborhood, most families have two working adults who leave home before 8 a.m. and return after 6 p.m. They speed down the street, conduct rolling stops at corners, and join the rushing multitudes out on the race tracks I just talked about. It's as if everyone has to rush to survive. It's the Hurry Up driver on steroids.

The Hurry Up driver, like the other four, is a message from important care givers to us as children that "You're OK with me if you hurry." We accept this idea, do the hurry up behavior and get stroked and accepted by grown-ups around us. We believe that we must hurry or "bad things" will happen. Once we've accepted this belief we grow up seeing proof all around us that faster is better. We believe that someone else will get there first and get the prize/sale/job/market share/lower price/best .../last .../only ... and we feel anxious if we even think about slowing down.

So instead of Human Beings, we've morphed into Human Do It Fasters. We have a quick shower with Mr. Coffee on the side, eat a breakfast bar on the road while we speed to work. We work in a situation that is 'fast paced and rewarding to highly energized achievers'. We order in for a power lunch. Grab a coffee and donut (or a Jolt if you're a programmer) to get us through the mid afternoon slump. Then negotiate the outbound traffic like rally-car drivers hoping to get home in time to zap a few pizza pockets in the microwave and take the boys to hockey practice by 6:30. Provided they're ready; and they're usually not which means doing the CmonCmon Let's Go! nag routine. If we're lucky we'll get a few minutes in front of the tube to relax after bath, snack and story. That is, unless our spouse needs to talk about the mortgage renewal that's coming up next month.

If you have the Hurry Up driver as your primary driver (all of us have all five in some type of hierarchical order) you'll think of all sorts of reasons to dispute the following paragraphs. Everyone else will be nodding their heads in agreement.

Benefits From Slowing Down
1. Reduction of stress.
2. Greater peace of mind.
3. Improved health, both physical and mental.
4. Improved relationships with everyone ie. fewer conflicts, closer, more enjoyable.
5. Enhanced sensory awareness of your life.
6. More creativity, enjoyment, pleasure.

Repeat after me: It's OK for me to slow down and take my time. Nothing bad will happen to me if I slow down, in fact I will be more thoughtful, creative, and healthier by slowing down. Slowing down will enrich my life because I will appreciate all the smaller details I've been missing by rushing. I give myself permission to slow down and enjoy the quality of my life- like slowly eating my favorite treat. I have the capability and skills to handle any issues that arise by my new slower pace of living. I permit myself to slow down and set an example for people I care about. It's OK for me, and I give myself authority to slow down my life in order to take good care of me.