Slowing Down to Speed Up

This week will be the final installment in a four-part series on William James’ Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life's Ideals.

In this edition, we’ll unpack a counterintuitive lesson about the relationship between our pace and our productivity…

🎯 The Idea In a Nutshell:

• Most modern men carry around a constant, low-grade fear that we’re not doing enough.

• According to William James, the real source of our stress isn’t the work itself—it’s our attitude toward it.

• We allow ourselves to be hurried, rigid, and overly attached to outcomes.

• This chronic tightness doesn’t just wear us down; it undermines our ability to perform at a high level.

• Paradoxically, the man who learns to bring a more relaxed attitude to his work ends up getting more done.

📝 Diving Deeper

You probably don’t even notice it most of the time. But stop right now and pay attention to your body. What do you feel?

There’s a good chance your shoulders are tight. Your breathing is shallow. Your jaw is slightly clenched. Your mind is only half-engaged in reading this email; the other half is busily churning over your mental to-do list, nagging you about all the other things you “should” be doing.

This is the default state for many of us—always slightly braced for the next demand. Endlessly asking ourselves, “Am I focused on the right thing right now? Is there something better, something more I should be doing?”

When facing the endless demands of fatherhood, marriage, and career, it’s tempting to resign ourselves to our harried state. But thankfully, James has a nuanced stance that goes beyond simplistic and impractical advice about working less and relaxing more.

Would taking a few more breaks help? Of course. But this isn’t just about the amount of work we’re doing; it’s the attitude we approach it with. We have too much on our plates, but we compound the problem with our “absurd feelings of hurry.” We’re restless. Uptight. Preoccupied with results. And endlessly anxious about the future.

We’re like a bicycle chain strung too tight. Resisting the very motion we’re trying to create. Straining our supporting frame. And eventually, if we’re not careful, we'll snap at the worst possible moment.

James urges us to rethink our approach. To be present with the task at hand. To accept our limitations and lack of control over the future. And, he argues, in so doing, we’ll actually become more productive and creative.

👉 Why it matters:

• As busy fathers, we have limited control over the number of demands on our time.

• But we can always control our mindset.

• With deliberate practice, we can cultivate a calm, unhurried approach to our work.

• Counterintuitively, such an approach can lower our stress levels and increase our productivity.

🤔 Prompts for Reflection

• In what ways are you allowing your mindset about work to compound your stress levels?

• What would it look like in practice for you to be more easygoing about your to-do list?

• What is one task today that you can be fully present with?

Make today impactful,
~Jason

PS - This was the fourth edition of a four-part series; if you’re interested in other impactful ideas from this book, check out the previous editions below:

• Raise Them from the Inside Out

• The Laws of Habit

• F#@k Your Feelings