Don’t let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use.

~ Earl Nightingale

When I first heard, ‘Take the time it takes, and it takes less time,’ it was over thirty years ago.

Much of my life’s philosophy comes from horses, and this statement is one of those gems. The essence of the quote comes from a natural horseman, Tom Dorrance, and when I heard it, it gave me much to ‘chew on.’ A horse person knows well when a horse simulates chewing while learning; it shows they are ‘chewing on a thought .’ When they begin to lick their lips, it means the thought is assimilating.

This statement influenced not only how I interacted with horses but also with life.

Quantity over quality has become the mainstream attitude in our fast-paced, get-things-done world. The destination is the goal, not the journey. The journey may hold the most important lessons and memories, but we rush through it to reach the end. It is like reading the book’s ending when we are midway through, bypassing the story’s nuances and plot.

It now appears we have become a society that has lost our patience for long-form content. Because of fast cuts, short storylines, and limited attention spans, what was once referred to as the MTV generation has become the standard communication mode. If you add in texting, swipe-right dating, and emojis, well, ‘Nuf said.

Whether we are mimicking art, life has followed suit.

We want instant gratification, immediate results, something for nothing. BTW, 2G2BT doesn’t work that way… IKR?*

Recognizing our strengths and weaknesses is the first step in personal growth. While understanding the meaning of  ‘take the time’  I unearthed aspects of myself that could use some work.

Patience was not one of my strong points. I say ‘was’ because it is something that I am continuously mindful of being. To say ‘is’ keeps it a current trait while ‘was’ puts it in the past. Surprisingly, I have patience for others; it is for myself that I am most demanding.

Thankfully, I have had horses as my teachers for most of my life. Working with a horse requires tremendous patience, focus, and emotional control. Without it can result in injury or worse.

Horses are a direct reflection of who we are. In the same way, our life is a straightforward reflection of how we move through it.

If we are impatient, our horses will become restless. If we become frustrated, our horses will become the same. If we are distracted by the day’s events, our horses will lack connection and become distracted. When we are focused, connected, and at peace, our horses will strive to understand what we want of them. Can you see this exact correlation with all aspects of life? When we are impatient with our friends, family, or colleagues, they, in turn, will feel the vibe, mirroring those feelings back to us.

Horses are like any other relationship we have in life. Be it with co-workers, significant others, kids, friends, strangers, or pets, our state of being will be reflected by those we hold in our sphere of living.

To take the time it takes requires us to slow down, be in the moment, not rush towards the destination, but instead enjoy the process of getting there. Cutting corners only cheats us, often resulting in having to redo something. Breaking a habit or rebuilding something can not only be frustrating, costly, and time-consuming. By doing it correctly, the first time can save time and energy.

Do it right the first time. 

Taking the time it takes has no end time; it takes as long as it takes, which may be a lifetime.

Cliche sayings often hold, and ‘Stopping to smell the flowers’ can work hand in hand with taking the time.

We bring to the table who we are. The more I work on myself, the clearer I become. To be a master of anything takes a lifetime, which is also true with mastery of ourselves. To Let Go of our need to hurry through a project to get it done or demand of ourselves before we are ready to assimilate it fully takes consciousness and kindness to ourselves. If we permit ourselves to ‘Take the time that it takes,’ it will often and most likely take less time.

I don’t always take the time; however, since this saying is ingrained in my subconscious now ( heck, after 30 years, you would hope it would be), I do catch myself pausing when opting for a shortcut, then a choice is made, which way to proceed.

Mostly, I choose the correct path.

I am learning.

It takes time to get to the top, and that’s good – because by the time you get there, you’ll have learned what you need to know in order to stay there.

~ Maria Shriver

*BTW= By the way

2G2BT = Too good to be true

IKR, I know, right?