The Rush
Each day millions of people commute across communities, back and forth to work, school, college, and wherever their regular routine takes them, during the peak hours of travel time aptly named the ‘rush hour’. But now the ‘rush hour’ has expanded. This ongoing frantic dash has continuously increased and become not only a ‘rush day’ or a ‘rush week’ but we are now experiencing the frantic activity of a ‘rush life’.
With speed comes pressure, and with pressure comes the ultimate need for a speedy and favourable outcome. and this is all because we are reacting from a place of emotion over logic. The pressure we experience comes from a sudden surge of emotion, which is demanding we take action fast if we are to receive a favourable outcome. And anything which takes place in a rush, or in a hurry, comes with the high risk of ending unfavourably. Pressure inevitably brings force, and when we find ourselves feeling forced to take any type of action we are fully aware that we may indeed regret acting with haste later. However, the initial fear connected to either reacting without urgency or reacting too late, can quite often be greater than any risk at all, simply because of the fear of missing out.
Life today openly encourages and rewards the need to live in a mentality of urgency. Remaining in a state of high alert mentally and emotionally has many people eager to quickly seize whatever opportunities are presented before it disappears. Rushing any verbal or physical response with a ‘snap reaction’ is quite often encouraged by a false sense of urgency, with a misguided belief that we may encounter some form of peril or misfortune for our lack of speed. Taking our time to respond from a more measured and carefully thought through process is regularly becoming overlooked due to the fear of missing out, but what is it that we are actually afraid of missing out on?
We are being encouraged to be the first to react with a promise of rewards. And the rewards we are being coaxed and cajoled to target and chase after are the acquisition of recognition and validation. Recognition and validation offer a sense of achievement, relevance, and ultimate acceptance, which are perceived as highly sought after rewards for most people, and especially when there is a possibility that they can be seen to be the ‘first’ in line for this ultimate reward.
Becoming the ‘first’ to react is often seen as someone whom is ‘quick off the mark’ or ‘quick thinking’. Society generally portrays people who behave in this manner in a positive and favourable light as these are qualities which are deemed as attractive. And while these are behaviours which may be necessary in most sports, and also in some areas of business - where a competitive nature is both expected and even a main requirement - behaviour of such a rushed or hurried nature spilling over into our everyday life can evidently prove to be extremely damaging.
The only individuals who can ultimately benefit from our unconscious need to rush are the industries and corporations who benefit from our lack of due diligence. Many areas of society and especially the large social media platforms benefit greatly from our ‘quick fire’ reactions, which is why rewards of recognition, validation and also finance, are at the heart of their business model. These are companies and platforms which prey upon the insecurity of those who are in search of external recognition, validation, and acceptance, due to an unfortunate lack of self-awareness.
When we rush, accidents and mistakes happen which is inevitably followed by regret. This is because life is not designed to be lived in a rush. Scrambling through life making quick and ill thought through decisions does not only put our own safety at risk, but also risks the security of those we care about. Everyone has a need to feel that they have something valuable to bring to this life, but any real reward of any worth takes time to arrive. Fast rewards are false and fleeting rewards, which hold very little to no true reverence to our validation as a relevant and valued human being.
Aiming to rush through life forfeits the true meaning of life itself. We miss out on great experiences, true acceptance, and the authentic validation and recognition which we all naturally seek. When we make the choice to refuse to instinctively react to all things external, and we slow down, take a deep breath, and think things through in a more leisurely and reserved way, only then will we understand that the only validation and recognition we need comes from our silent inner voice of self-awareness, self-worth, and self-acceptance.
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