Even small obstacles are seen as a conspiracy by those in a hurry
Hurrying to get to the next moment is clear evidence that you are out of sync with what is happening in the present moment. It is evidence that you are not happy with this moment and live in the fantasy that the next moment will bring you to bliss. Of course it never does, because when you get to the future you are not happy there either. You immediately start looking around the next bend to make you happy. It becomes a joyless treadmill.“A minor delay at
the Post Office can cause suffering”
Those of us in a hurry see even minor inconveniences as evidence that the universe and everybody and everything in it is involved a giant conspiracy to prevent us from arriving at the future where the ego has promised nirvana. Anyone or anything that steps in our way, that slows us down, that stops us from getting exactly what we want when we want it, becomes the enemy.
Our obsession with rushing and hurrying results in feelings of anger and rage. Rage is everywhere: road rage, air rage, shopping rage, parking lot rage, vacation rage. Thanks to all this rushing and hurrying, we are experiencing an epidemic of rage, anger and violence in our society.Anger, frustration and fear that stem from the rage saps vital blood from our frontal cortex. This blood loss reduces our ability to focus and concentrate. That causes our personal performance and productivity to decline, which only makes those tasks that we do end up doing take more time. This perpetuates a slowing degenerative spiral, which leads us to hurry and rush all the more.
Rushing puts us out of the natural rhythm of life. We think that by hurrying and rushing, we can cram more of our unrealized expectations into life. If we only hurry, we can have more glittering careers, art courses, exercise routines, reading, eating out, socializing, playing sports, watching TV, shopping, time with the kids, playing with gadgets, volunteering, surfing the Web and, of course, the gnawing unmet goals (I was supposed to have my PhD by now).
The result is a gnawing disconnect between what we want from life and what we can realistically have, which feeds the sense that there is never enough time. Time is not the issue, the issue is our bloated expectations. Ask yourself this question, are more experiences and and acquisitions going to truly bring me a more satisfying life? True fulfillment as a human being requires that we pay attention to such things as happiness, peace and serenity. It is vital that you examine what is really important in your life from time to time and downsize the to-do list and slow it down. Start living your life right this instant and quit living in the future.