The art of slowness is the practice of solemn grace that bespeaks a man’s mindcoolness.
When you’re in a hurry, you’re ungrounded. And when you’re ungrounded, you appear anxious and weak.
Stand still! with both your feet firmly on the ground. Every diligent soldier knows this: standing still demonstrates discipline.
The slower you move, talk, and act, the brighter shines the intention of your strong, assertive will. Put conviction in your every word! Put determination in your every action! And put a clear purpose in your every step! You don’t hesitate, so you don’t need to rush.
Being in a hurry is always a form of anxiety—and a lack of presence. Also, you don’t have to feel or act busy to get things done. Do not mistake busyness for productivity. Just focus.
When you scamper restlessly from place to place like a timid little rabbit, you look unmanly and unstable. Why are you flitting?
I see this a lot in boys with low self-esteem when they talk to a chick they like. They’re all over the place!—emotionally, mentally, and physically. And I know that feeling all too well from when I was a kid. When I saw Her and my heart started beating faster, I felt like time was fleeing, and I felt an urge to move and bustle about. Swiftness always has a feel of anxiety to it.
The way of becoming a man entails a practice of slowness—and of patience. Look at confident men: they have an ease in their demeanor, a coolness in their gaze, a calm in their step, and a poise in their voice. They have mastered the art of slowness. Now they embody power and dominance.
When you calm your body, you cool your mind. And you shall! For the path to mindcoolness is to be walked leisurely.