Fresh Start Monday: #045: Speed limits when moving too fast

Last week, we talked about slow is smooth, smooth is fast. In the journaling workshop, I was reflecting on when I moved too fast and my recent purchase of a bike came up.

Boulder, CO is incredible for cycling, especially on gravel and off-road trails. When I started to look into nearby trails, I got hooked. I suddenly HAD to have a bike the following weekend.

I purchased a bike from REI and was thrilled to start riding. For about a week, that is. I soon discovered some of the limitations of the bike I purchased. It didn't have the tire clearance suitable for the bikepacking that I wanted to do.

I returned my bike and purchased a new one. It was a great example of last week's newsletter. Moving fast, only to be slowed down by moving in the wrong direction.

When looking at patterns for falling into this trap, it's usually when I get excited about a new hobby. (Like that time I purchased a 10-pack of classes for a Muay Thai gym in New Zealand. After the 3rd class, I was obsessed and purchased new gloves. Unfortunately, I never even finished my 10-pack.)

I tend to go from 0 to 100. It's great because I get really good, really fast, but not so great as highlighted above. The first step is awareness of which areas we move too fast in, but what steps can we take to move slower?

To slow down, I like to think of putting speed limits in place.

In that example, I could have rented different types of bikes for 2 or 3 weekends to better understand what I wanted. By doing, I'd learn a lot more than just doing research.

Let's look at other examples:

Many people struggle with impulse buying. According to a recent year-over-year survey, Americans spend $276 a month on impulse buys. My favorite stat from the survey: Two-thirds of impulse shopping happens in our beds on our smartphones...

Maybe a speed limit or guard rail to put into place is that anything in your shopping cart must be there for 24 or 48 hours before purchasing.

Keep in mind, marketers use urgency to induce you to buy. Just know, if you do want to purchase, that same sale will pop up soon enough.

Another way to set guardrails is that based on a certain monetary threshold you will take a look at your finances and budget.

So for example, any purchase under $100 you can purchase with no hesitation. However, any purchase over $100 you need to confirm you're under your monthly budget or check you can make the purchase without going into or further into debt.

Another quick example is responding to emails too quickly. How can you limit mistakes, typos, or emails you shouldn't have sent? I personally use Grammarly to check my writing, and it often underlines words or phrases that need another look.

Another example that came up in last week's journaling workshop is rushing into relationships. How might a speed limit work in that scenario?

For other areas of your life you move too fast in, what guard rails are you putting into place?