Steady & unhurried

Polymath and writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe reminds us to live and work with a calm persistence: “Without haste, yet without rest.” Note: Goethe’s original example was a star orbiting the sun: steady and unhurried, but always in motion.
— via James Clear

I like that analogy.

Steady and unhurried, but always in motion.

With my consistency, I think I’ve done the steady, always in motion part. It’s the unhurried that’s hard.

It requires patience.
It takes resilience.
It asks for acceptance.

What unhurried looks like (for me):

• Goalless: Systems over goals. With the right system, reaching goals are inevitable. But also, goals change. If we’re fixated on one way to a goal, we might miss opportunities to win in many other ways.
• Permissionless: Don’t wait for permission from others, institutions, fate. Don’t say things like: “If I had enough money…”, “It’s too hard to register a company”, “Time is not ripe yet”.
• Calm: Best part of unhurried is calmness. No stress about your competitors. No worry about missing an opportunity. No artificial deadlines.
• Joyfulness: In my own race. At my own pace. Nourished. Moisturised. Joyfull.

Steady and unhurried.
But always in motion.