4 minute read

By Bethany Rees

It’s officially a new year…and with a new year comes a renewed hope and sense of resolve to be better, to grow, to overcome obstacles and bad habits, and to achieve success. 

In our personal lives we often develop resolutions or firm decisions about what we are or aren’t going to do, and in our professional lives we set goals or targets for desired results. 

But before you go buying that gym membership or creating that goals presentation for your team at work I want you to take a moment to go slow now so you can go fast later.

You see, The U.S. Navy Seals have a phrase that I love. They say:

 “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”

Think about that…”slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”

Think about all the special and critical missions that Navy Seals complete that are truly life or death missions. They can’t afford to get things wrong so they go slow to do things right the first time so it is smooth. And by going slow and being smooth, they are able to go fast. 

Is it possible that you, me and society in general are going fast to be fast?

Are we hastily making resolutions or throwing out goals and then start marching fast towards them?

Now don’t get me wrong here, I like being biased to action. But to go fast without ever having gone slow to think through the resolutions or goals and without having gone slow to ensure the heart/culture, the plan, and the daily practice are smooth…we quite possibly will never fully reach our desired outcomes. 

And while our personal or professional goals may not be a life or death situation like the Navy Seals’ missions…I can’t help but wonder if years and years of piled up unfulfilled resolutions and unmet goals don’t truly take a toll on our minds and quality of life. 

Think about the most popular resolution each and every new year…to lose weight. We use filters on our phones to hide our imperfections, we follow radical eating plans, and spend thousands of dollars on weight-loss programs that promise results. We even take pills or result in nip and tuck surgeries to go fast to get the results we want.  

Yet as a society, we continue on the track to being more unhealthy than we’ve ever been. In the short term we take short cuts to achieve the facade of losing weight, but in the long term our waistlines are growing.

I know this specific struggle all too well.  

We/I have been trying to go fast to be fast in achieving our desired results.

But in going fast, we aren’t dealing with the true root causes of what is keeping us from reaching our goals and then sustaining that success. 

Too often at we use a band-aid approach in overcoming challenges to accomplish goals when what is really needed is corrective surgery.

Don’t get me wrong, band-aids have their use for minor injuries to the health of our situation, but most of the time we never slow down enough to do the corrective surgery required to truly set us up for growth and success. 

So as you contemplate your goals for this new year, think about going slow…and putting in the work of corrective surgery for beliefs, mindsets, behaviors, and plans. Pray and ask God what the root causes are for the symptoms you’re feeling. And think ask him to change your heart, mind, behavior, and plans to align with His. 

Then go through the rehabilitation of developing a process that you can implement smoothly and with fidelity. Then by going slow with God, you will go smooth…and by going smooth…you’ll go fast in reaching your goals for the new year. 

Know Better. Do Better. Live Better. Go Slow to Go Fast.

Rocks before Sand!

Scripture: 

“The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”

~Proverbs 21:5

Theme Song: 

Alabama - I’m in a Hurry

References Used:

• Gleeson, Brent. “9 Navy SEAL Sayings That Will Improve Your Organization's Ability To Lead Change” Forbes.com
• The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.