In a world that often celebrates speed and efficiency, the virtues of slowing down are frequently overlooked. Yet, the practice of mindfulness and patience is not only rooted in spiritual wisdom but is also supported by modern medical research. Embracing a slower pace can significantly enhance one’s mental and physical health, improve relationships, and deepen one’s spiritual life.

Psychological and Medical Consequences of Hastiness

There are many negative consequences of living in a stressed out state of impatience too long.

1. Increased Anxiety and Stress: Rushing through tasks can elevate stress levels, leading to chronic anxiety, which is detrimental to both mental and physical health.

2. Poor Decision-Making: Hasty decisions are often poorly thought out and can result in significant mistakes in both personal and professional contexts.

3. Relationship Strain: Haste and impatience can erode relationships, leading to unnecessary conflict and misunderstanding, as discussed in various psychological studies on communication.

4. Chronic Inflammation: A 2018 study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found that psychological stress is associated with the body’s inflammatory response, which can lead to persistent inflammation, a contributor to chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes.

5. Burnout: According to a 2019 article in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, prolonged stress from a fast-paced lifestyle can lead to burnout, which is marked by emotional exhaustion, detachment, and a sense of ineffectiveness.

6. Cardiac Problems: Research in the American Journal of Cardiology indicates that chronic stress can lead to high blood pressure and heart disease due to the constant activation of the sympathetic nervous system.

7. Digestive Issues: Hastily consumed meals can result in gastrointestinal disturbances, as noted in a 2017 review in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, which links fast eating with increased incidence of gastroesophageal reflux and other digestive problems.

8. Sleep Disturbances: The National Sleep Foundation highlights that stress and anxiety can disrupt sleep patterns, leading to poor sleep quality and insomnia.

9. Sexual Health Problems: A 2020 study in the Journal of Sexual Medicine found that stress and fatigue could adversely affect sexual health, reducing libido and causing sexual dysfunction.

As you can see, rushing around, being stressed out and never taking some slow days is not healthy at all. The Dao Life Lunar Calendar addresses hasty folk. We have special days where we get to practice slowing down, like Lunar Day 25. With the Turtle as our spirit guide, we can learn to slow down and smell the roses, watch the sunrise and sunset, ground and feed the birds.

How do I know if I’m impatient or too hasty?

Recognizing signs of impatience or hastiness is crucial for managing stress and improving interpersonal interactions. Here’s a detailed list of signs and symptoms that might indicate you’re acting too hastily or being impatient.

1. Frequent Irritability

Sign: You get easily annoyed, especially in situations where you have to wait. Example: Feeling agitated when standing in a slow-moving line or during traffic delays. This can lead to unnecessary stress and conflict with others who might not meet your pace. (leaving earlier always helps that one.)

2. Poor Decision Making

Sign: Making decisions quickly without fully considering the consequences. Example: Purchasing an expensive item on impulse without researching or considering if it’s truly needed. Hastiness in decision-making can lead to regrets and potentially serious financial or personal repercussions. (Managing larger purchases with the Dao Life Lunar Financial Calendar will help you choose the most harmonious, clear sky days to make those decisions without clouds or storms, metaphorically.)

3. Constant Rushing

Sign: You always seem to be in a hurry, even when there’s no time pressure. Example: Eating meals quickly, rushing conversations, or speeding while driving without reason. This habitual rushing can increase stress levels and diminish the quality of both personal experiences, family time, and it will also adversely effect your work output.

4. High Levels of Stress

Sign: Feeling constantly stressed, especially about meeting deadlines or getting to appointments. Example: Experiencing anxiety when tasks take longer than expected or when slight delays occur. Chronic stress from impatience can lead to health issues such as hypertension, headaches, and anxiety disorders.

5. Relationship Strains

Sign: Your impatience causes frequent misunderstandings or conflicts with others. Example: Snapping at a partner for being slow or not keeping up with your pace when planning activities. Impatience can harm relationships, making loved ones feel undervalued or pressured.

6. Compulsive Behavior

Sign: Engaging in compulsive behaviors to avoid waiting or slow processes. Example: Constantly checking your phone while waiting for a response to an email or message. This can reduce your ability to enjoy downtime, impacting mental health and productivity.

7. Neglecting Details

Sign: Missing important details because of the rush to complete tasks. Example: Submitting work with errors or overlooking critical instructions in a project. This can compromise work quality and lead to increased time spent correcting mistakes.

8. Physical Symptoms

Sign: Experiencing physical symptoms such as muscle tension, headaches, or gastrointestinal issues. Example: Tension headaches, stomach ulcers and chronic inflammation that flares up during periods of stress and impatience. These symptoms are physical manifestations of stress that need addressing to prevent long-term health issues.

Impatience and hastiness can be influenced by a range of factors, from medical conditions to personality traits and seasonal influences. The following situations can make folk more prone to being hasty and lacking patience.

• Medical Conditions:
  • Hyperthyroidism: Excess thyroid hormone can increase metabolism and nervous energy, leading to impatience and irritability.
  • ADHD, Aging or Brain Injuries: Characterized by difficulty in maintaining attention and controlling impulses, leading to hasty decisions and actions.
  • Anxiety Disorders: High anxiety can make waiting or slow processes feel intolerable, resulting in impatience.
• Side Effects of Medications:
  • Stimulants: Used to treat ADHD and other conditions; can increase restlessness and decrease patience.
  • Corticosteroids: Can cause mood swings and increased anxiety, contributing to impulsive behaviors.
• Life Situations:
  • High-Pressure Jobs: Careers with tight deadlines (e.g., journalism, stock trading) can foster a habit of hastiness and impatience.
  • Parenting Stress: Parents managing children’s schedules along with their own can become impatient due to constant time pressures. Caretaking an elderly parents can cause feelings of frustration and fatigue causing impatience.
• Personality Types:
  • Type A: Characterized by competitiveness and urgency, often leading to impatience in situations that progress slowly.
  • High Achievers: Individuals driven to excel can be impatient with delays or perceived inefficiencies in their path to success.
• Seasonal Characteristics:
  • Aries (Sidereal Dates: April 14 – May 14): Known for being impulsive and eager, individuals with Sun or key planets in Aries may exhibit natural impatience. They often prefer quick action and dislike delays, which can lead to hasty decisions.
  • Springtime: When the Sun and or Mercury is in Aries (every year approximately April 14 to May 14 in sidereal astrology), it can predispose individuals to bypass forethought and communicate too quickly, sometimes at the expense of thoroughness, leading to impulsive decisions, mistakes, miscommunications and lost time.

These many kinds of causes and influences often encourage a fast pace and a direct approach, which can manifest as impatience in day-to-day interactions and decisions. Each of these factors contributes differently to the traits of impatience or hastiness in an individual. Understanding the underlying cause is crucial in addressing and managing this behavior effectively. Recognizing these signs and taking steps to manage your pace at work can significantly improve your quality of life, reduce stress, and enhance your relationships. Techniques like mindfulness, structured time management, and intentional pauses throughout the day can help cultivate patience and a more deliberate approach to life’s challenges. Here are some tips to help you slow down and enjoy the simple, present moments in life.

Mindful Techniques and Practices to Slow Down

Slow Eating and Silent Eating:

These practices incorporating silence in meals, and thorough chewing of food for enzymatic help not only aids digestion but also enhance the appreciation of food. Aligning with the mindful eating principles advocated by Master Thich Nhat Hanh, who said, “When you eat in a hurry, it is difficult to be grateful for your food.” He is so correct. (I say is because he’s one of those ever living saint monks). I studied with Master Hanh and learned Buddhist Eating with him and the monks and nun from the Plum Village Monastery. It changed my life and taught me how satisfying simple and less can be.

Leaving Early & Silent Driving:

Discipline yourself to set alarms and leave the house 20 minutes earlier than usual. Do it once and you’ll see. By reducing sensory overload, silent driving allows one to be fully present, which can decrease stress and increase safety. Turning off the radio or music in the car and driving in silence can transform your commute into a time of reflection and calmness. This practice can decrease road rage and increase driving safety by enhancing your focus on the road.

“Turtle” Type Exercise: Qigong, Tai Chi, and Yoga

These ancient practices are well-regarded for their ability to reduce stress and improve physical health. Tai Chi, for example, is often referred to as “meditation in motion” and has been shown in studies like those published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society to improve balance, mental health and motor control. The entire point of Tai Chi and Qigong is to get you to ssssslllllooooowwww ddddoooowwwwnnnnn.

Additional Slow Practices

Yoga: Incorporates breathing, meditation, and slow movements to improve mental and physical health. Yoga is known for its ability to reduce stress and increase body awareness. It’s underlying spiritual philosophy encourages mindfulness as well.

Reading: Setting aside time to read without rushing through the material can be a form of mental relaxation and an escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Maybe a good mystery, or drama.

Crafting or Art: Engaging in slow and detailed crafts or artistic activities can be incredibly meditative and soothing for the mind. Many people took up coloring in coloring books a few years ago in a mindfulness fad. Anything that focuses your mind away from usual thinking or focusing habits. Use some different channels.

Spiritual Help for Impatience

Wise folk throughout the ages have extolled the virtue of patience. The ancient Daoists knew that patience is not a gift, but a skill that anyone can learn with desire, time, investment, effort and practice. Just like learning to play the piano, mindfulness is a skill that must be practiced. No one is good at it at first. It took me nine months of classes and 3-4 days a week of 1.5 hours of practice before any point of stillness or moment of ah ha happened. Reading wisdom literature (as recommended on day 22 of the Lunar Calendar) also really helped me transition from the always late rusher, to being more in a natural flow and feeling in sync with the world around me.

• Lao Tzu famously said, “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” This reflects the Taoist philosophy of Wu Wei, or non-action, which advocates for a natural order of things without forced efforts.
• St. Francis de Sales noted, “Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself.” This sentiment echoes across many spiritual traditions that highlight the importance of patience as a virtue.
• Rumi, the Sufi mystic, taught that “Patience is the key to joy.” This simple truth underscores the deep connection between the ability to wait peacefully and the experience of profound joy.

Incorporating these practices and heeding these spiritual teachings can help counteract the stress of modern life. By consciously choosing to slow down and cultivate patience, we not only improve our health and well-being but also open ourselves to deeper understanding and appreciation of the world around us. The interplay between slowing down and enhanced quality of life is not just a spiritual axiom but a tangible reality affirmed by contemporary medical research.

*AI Assist