No Rush, No Pause

So often the world is in a rush.
Places to be.
Things to do.
People to see.

I’ve been an all-or-nothing girl most of my life. I thought this behavioural pattern was built into my DNA. (It was just a really bad excuse to act frantic). I’d go all-out at a task and then BANG, be flat on my back a few weeks later with no energy for anything.

Then I came across a saying in the book Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss (page 603):

No rush, no pause

My first thoughts were ‘WHAT?! No pause?! How am I meant to rest to come back invigorated?’
It took me a while to get my head around.

The premise behind ‘no rush, no pause,’ is when we rush time shrinks, and when we are relaxed time expands.
But my interpretation is something a little different.

It’s like the Tortoise and the Hare.
It’s the marathon versus the sprint.
We can likely get more stuff done by not rushing, but instead, taking tasks steadily, enjoying the process rather than wishing it was over.

When we rush, we can be accompanied by frustration and anxiety.
Nobody likes that!

Most days I write something like this in my journal:
‘There’s no rush LT. There’s no need to hurry.’
‘Take it slow and steady and keep the momentum going.’
‘Show up each day.’


I think back to rowing across the Atlantic Ocean, a 3,000 mile journey which took 6 weeks!

My team and I rowed in two hours shifts, non-stop all throughout the day and night, every day for 43 days.

We were in no hurry. We also never stopped!
We always kept the boat moving forward.

This is a fine example of no rush, no pause.
We made it to Antigua in a great time, winning the female race!

Life is like rowing across an ocean – I take the principles from that challenge and apply them to everyday life.

No rush, no pause.


You can get 95% of the results you want by calmly putting one foot in front of the other.

Tim Ferriss

Do not hurry, do not rest.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

There’s no advantage to hurrying through life.

Shikamaru Nara