Sixth

“To climb steep hills requires slow pace at first” - William Shakespeare

I was once told, about a year ago when I was really starting to focus on rock climbing, to focus on climbing ‘quietly’ to improve. At first I didn’t give this much thought, but as I practiced it I saw how ‘quiet climbing’ helped me be more intentional about my movement and let me use skill instead of brute force to get through various routes. It was also way more fun, it just felt better!

Later on, as I was getting certified as a running coach, I learned that the same advice goes for running. Research has actually shown that “quiet running” reduces injuries and allows you to run more efficiently. I also recently read Matt Fitzerald’s book “Run Like a Pro (Even if You’re Slow)” which carried a similar message. Matt trained with Hoka’s elite runners and one of his big take aways was how easy their ‘easy’ runs are. Although their pace was probably not slow according to my standards, for these elite runners about 80% of their running was very slow and very easy. Similarly, one of the mistakes new runners make is to run too fast thinking the harder they work the better their running will be; this isn’t the case.

Looking back, I have come to really appreciate that piece of advice. But it was not the first time I had been told to slow down and be intentional.

Going back to 2020 when I went out to climb the Grand Teton I remember my guide turning to me as we descended and saying “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”. Meanwhile I was clumsily bouncing down the rocks, pretty sure I was going to get injured at some point. I could not comprehend at the time how easy Parker (my guide) was making this look! After all, we had woken up at the crack of dawn and had already spent hours that morning climbing to the summit and I was tired, mentally and physically. While I probably looked like a liability, Parker was seemingly floating down this unstable pile of rocks. “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”. That’s actually a phrase used by the U.S. Navy seals I learned later.

As I slowed down I had more time to observe, recognize patterns, plan and make deliberate decisions instead of just rushing and going for the next move I see.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” –Lao Tzu

As helpful as the “quiet” movement and “slow is smooth and smooth is fast” tips are in running, climbing or hiking, I’ve also started to see how this applies to life in general. It seems like life can be very loud - every accomplishment is a post on social media, everyone wants everyone to know what they’re doing. A lot of people also feel the need to be loud about their opinions, to announce to the world what they support, who they dislike etc. Everyone fighting to be louder than the person next to them, trying to win a very un-winnable argument. Similar to ‘alarm fatigue’ in the hospital, these constant announcements just start to blend together and become this constant buzz in the background, no one actually listening to the meaning behind people’s words. It’s also just exhausting.

“Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.” –Ralph Waldo Emerson

Just because my brain cognitively gets this, does not mean I now feel I live a perfectly quiet and intentional life. Emotions and the day-to-day stressors can easily get in the way, for me. But having this in the back of my head has been very helpful.

I recently went on a backpacking trip and after just 48 hours without service the ‘real world’ hit and I started to feel stressed, overwhelmed and honestly sad that I can’t just live in a tent with my phone on airplane mode.

Luckily for me, the night I got home a friend invited me to hangout at a family’s house in Evergreen where they were planning on getting together to play some music and eat pizza. I wasn’t exactly feeling up for a lot of social interaction, but I went because I wanted ice cream and pizza. I am glad I went, and not because of the food.

The family who owned the house was so kind and inviting. The mom had made raspberry iced tea and was sitting on the couch with her mom and her brother when we arrived. At first I was a little antsy to get things moving, they hadn’t picked up the pizza and I thought people were going to play music… it looked like no one really had a plan.

But we passed the time just chatting, enjoying the evening and getting to meet new people. We sat out on their porch which had a lot of bird feeders and plants. I watched as they gracefully and warmly welcomed all these people (some friends and some who they had never met before) into their home. Slowly instruments were taken out of their cases and everyone (excluding myself, since I enjoy music much more by listening rather than playing) started playing together. I sat on the porch with four dogs, my iced tea and my third pice of pizza just listening to a few guitars, a couple of banjos, a mandolin and a bass start to make some pretty good sounding tunes together. The sun was setting behind the mountains and the birds were flying all around. Nothing was rushed, but everything was very much enjoyed.

"The harder you chase something, the faster you go and the less you're able to let life meet life. If you're having difficulty coming up with new ideas, then slow down..." -- Natalie Goldberg

Now, I’ve never been a very patient person. However one of my best friends has reminded me recently of the importance of patience (shout out to NTB). In line with this, I was talking to another friend about making decisions and he told me how he uses decision making tools before making any decision, which involve writing everything down, giving time and space to think and reflect. Both of these friends, in their own way, are saying the same thing. Slow down. Like the Navy Seals saying “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” this seemingly contradictory statement actually makes a lot of sense to me now.

Sometimes when I am stressed or feeling overwhelmed or upset I feel like I should be doing something about whatever I am worried about in the attempts to try and rectify the situation. Therefore when things get hard, sometimes I find myself making it harder by just trying to push through instead of slowing down and quietly addressing the tasks, people or goals I want to prioritize.

I have noticed that people I admire tend to be quieter in nature. They tend to be very self-aware, and also much better listeners and observers than the rest of us. They remember what’s going on in your life and notice when others are struggling and when others are doing well. These ‘quieter’ people also tend to think more about what they say and what they do, they’re intentional about their actions. When they do choose to speak, people around them tend to listen.

So at the end of the day, a ‘loud’ life might look good on ‘Snapface or Instachat’ (Bill Belicheck’s words). It may look like someone has a ton of really good friends or is always on some cool adventure - when in reality, at the end of the day, they may or may not be moving forward with their goals and they may or may not even be happy with their lives. Not to say social media is necessarily bad, I definitely use it, but I believe I use it best when I see it as a tool rather than a tether. It becomes a tether (for me) when it takes away from the time to be quiet and think. Or when it makes me feel like I should be doing more because I am comparing myself to people I don’t really know at all.

Ideally I would like to work to become more like the people I admire. The ones who live quietly, who go slow and smooth and therefore reach their goals consistently and efficiently. The ones who minimize their impact. The ones who think, observe and listen. The ones who stand by their values, their words, their commitments rather than let impulse, comparison or emotion dictate their day to day lives.

On that most recent backpacking trip I mentioned, my dog stopped along the path and (although I don’t believe he was actually doing this) he took time to smell the flowers. On a tiring hike, sometimes that stopping to take in your surroundings is exactly the motivation I need to keep going. And when we are overwhelmed in life, well that also seems like a good time to stop and smell flowers (or trees).

"Slow down you're doing fine You can't be everything you want to be before your time." - Billy Joel