The actual quote of course is “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” It comes from the US Navy SEALs, although it has been expressed in other words before their existence. The civilian cliche equivalent that I’ve heard is “haste makes waste,” although I find that phrasing to be less helpful (less positive and instructional).
At its core, the saying “Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast” emphasizes the importance of accuracy, consistency, and a controlled pace in executing tasks. Contrary to popular belief, the fastest route to success isn’t always about rushing headlong into tasks. It’s about maintaining a rhythm, a smoothness in operation that naturally leads to increased speed and efficiency.
~George Morris
I equate this concept most directly with martial arts. In all the styles I have experience with, the best teachers start with forms and motions that are repeated over and over again, slowly enough to master the minute gestures needed. Only when the student’s technique is consistently excellent does the teacher move them to speed up and eventually turn these gestures into actual strikes or blocks. If you need speed and precision, start slow.
I’ve used this general approach in my endurance training. My mantra since the very beginning of my adult running career has been consistency>distance>speed. Meaning that running regularly is always my primary focus. Then, when that is being achieved, I allow myself to add some distance. And only when I am consistently running the distance I’m aiming for do I even think about going faster. Now, stumbling through a marathon is a far cry from the speed and accuracy needed by military special forces teams but I think that shows the broad applicability of this concept.
We would do well to remember also that “slow is smooth, smooth is fast” applies to more than training. It is important in execution as well. I have a hard time thinking of a scenario where you want to focus on speed exclusively, at the expense of all else. And yet, I have spent much of my life rushing.
Anxious Roots
Over the past year or two I have come to realize that I have been largely driven by anxiety, without knowing it. I’ve further realized that my anxiety has very often (almost consistently) caused me to be hurried and harried.
Quick interlude here: I’m not (necessarily) talking about an anxiety disorder or medical condition. I’m talking about the universal feeling of anxiety. It is closely related to fear. Fear has a specific and identifiable trigger (typically something external to yourself) and is correspondingly present-focused. Like when you are surprised by a snake, a spider, or your father-in-law. Fear triggers the fight/flight/freeze mechanisms and is often intense but short lived. Anxiety, on the other hand, usually does not have a specific or identifiable trigger but rather comes from inside yourself and therefor often exists when there is no actual threat. This is possible because anxiety tends to be future-oriented, so you’re essentially afraid of something that hasn’t happened yet – and might never happen. That then allows it to be persistent or even chronic. To round things out, regret seems to be the past-oriented equivalent emotion, but we’ll not get into that today.
Knowing is half the battle as G.I. Joe used to tell me each Saturday morning. It’s true here. Now that I know that my harried pace was a self-inflicted response to chronic anxiety, I can do something about it! And, you guessed it, what I am going to do is to slow the fuck down.
Self-Respect
I’ve recently fallen in love with Joan Didion. Or, at least her writing; her way of seeing and explaining the world around us and within us. On a recent trip down to some Yucatan beaches I read Slouching Towards Bethlehem and as Pam Poovey would say: Sploosh. Why am I telling you this? Well, one of the essays in that book is On Self-Respect and it’s amazing. So, instead of paraphrasing, just go check it out. Here’s a relevant taste, not the best piece of that article, but the one that gets closest to why I’m including ‘self-respect’ as a header at this point of this post:
To have that sense of one’s intrinsic worth which, for better or for worse, constitutes self-respect, is potentially to have everything: the ability to discriminate, to love and to remain indifferent. To lack it is to be locked within oneself, paradoxically incapable of either love or indifference. If we do not respect ourselves, we are on the one hand forced to despise those who have so few resources as to consort with us, so little perception as to remain blind to our fatal weaknesses. On the other, we are peculiarly in thrall to everyone we see, curiously determined to live out—since our self-image is untenable—their false notions of us. We flatter ourselves by thinking this compulsion to please others an attractive trait: a gift for imaginative empathy, evidence of our willingness to give. Of course we will play Francesca to Paolo, Brett Ashley to Jake, Helen Keller to anyone’s Annie Sullivan: no expectation is too misplaced, no rôle too ludicrous. At the mercy of those we can not but hold in contempt, we play rôles doomed to failure before they are begun, each defeat generating fresh despair at the necessity of divining and meeting the next demand made upon us.
It turns out, I currently believe, that the source of much of my propulsive anxiety was a form of imposter syndrome born of a lack of self-respect. This is an earth-shattering revelation for me, someone who thought of myself as a confident individual. Last spring I had an experience that left me with the absolute and unequivocal knowledge that I am, in fact, good enough. Wow. The crazy part of feeling that was realizing that I had not felt it before, at least not for a very long time.
The guilt and shame of regret is insidious, even when–perhaps especially when–you don’t realize you are carrying all that around with you. I’m not crying, you’re crying.
Slowing Down
The point of all this is to say that I have decided to slow down. To stop rushing. To focus on dong the things that I really and truly want to do, and on doing them well.
Do Fewer Things. Work at a Natural Pace. Obsess over Quality.
~
Which is actually one of the reasons I am writing this on 2 April and not 2 January. I had pushed myself past burnout doing a job I didn’t want to do and never really agreed to do but let myself be guilted into doing anyway for all of the aforementioned reasons. And so I’ve taken a handful of months to reset, re-calibrate, and to rest. I have not stopped working but I have stopped rushing, mostly. I’ve become more deliberate in choosing what to work on, and when to work on it. I still very much intend to be productive as fuck. Only now it will be a more reasonable and “slow productivity.”
Ramping Up
A big part of this focus includes working on the things I am best at, the things I love the most, the areas where my contributions will be most valuable. My ikigai.
What is that? Well, to some extent, you’ll have to wait and see. I do have an idea in mind but I am taking my time developing it. Since around December I’ve been putting deep thought into “what next?” Here’s what I know so far:
- I understand computer networks thoroughly. I’ve spent my 20+ year career working on, in, and around the internet and I’m well versed in network architecture and operations. Internet routing and interconnection, network design and policy, operations and automation, observability and security.
- I love working with smart, driven people (almost) as much as I love working on networks. This has lead me to get really good at a bunch of less-technical bits like organizational structure, change management, product development, and the cultural hurdles to innovation–to name a few. This is a big part of why I’ve been able to create several successful organizations.
- I do not, however, love being a manager. I’m a great coach and advisor, but I don’t enjoy working with folks who are not passionate about their work and there are just too many people out there collecting paychecks who don’t really care about the broader mission. That’s fine for them, they simply deserve a manager other than me.
- I love communicating. I’m a writer. I revel in the English language. I buzz with excitement when I can convey an idea to another human being, no matter whose idea it may be. I love conversation and public speaking and all the different forms of transmitting data person to person. It requires great empathy to do well, and I really enjoy making those connections.
- I learn fast and synthesize well. This makes me buoyant in most substances. I tend to be able to dive in head first and figure it out along the way. It’s why I love new experiences and probably why I love puzzles as well. Because of that, I am excellent at problem solving. Point me in the right direction and I will learn what I need to know to solve the challenge being faced by separating signal from noise and applying past lessons.
So, I’m working on a methodology that will allow me to provide insight, objectivity, courage, and empathy in the context of network infrastructure as a deep expert and broad generalist… Stay tuned!
My Three Words
My three words for 2025 are Create, Deliberate, Confidence.
Create
My focus in 2025 is on creating new opportunity doing the things I love for the folks those things are most valuable to. Likely creating a new business along the way. I also intend to create valuable things, like reports, presentations, articles and the like. Maybe even a new tool or two. I intend to create opportunity for my clients. And I plan to do it all creatively–I am not building according to some blueprint–I am innovating here.
Deliberate
This word is a reminder of much of the above. I will be slow to be smooth, so that I can be fast. I will focus on slow productivity, not busyness, and I won’t allow myself to become harried. I will intentionally choose who to work with, what to work on, and when, how, and where to do it. I will not be swept along by external pressures or conventional expectations, but instead choose my own path with purpose and awareness.
Confidence
This one is a reminder of the rest of what’s above. I will build true confidence in both new and familiar experiences, based on my character and newly discovered self-respect. This confidence will allow me to set the boundaries needed to be deliberate in my creative work. I will trust in my abilities as well as in my inherent worth in order to continually overcome imposter syndrome and do the thing that is dually obviously right and absolutely terrifying.
My 2025 Goals
In addition to creating deliberate confidence, I have a few measurable items to attend to. Most are a continuation of my current focus.
Fitness
Mind, body, heart, and soul. I’m dialing a couple of these back from last year to focus on quality over quantity.
- Run:
- Prepare to run El Reto del Indio on my 45th birthday (in Feb 2026)
- Read:
- at least 30 books
- Including at least 10 physical books
- Rest:
- Meditate “every” day
- wRite:
- Publish at least 25 works (blogs, podcasts, papers, webinars, etc)
- Write at least 1 new chapter for my “Credo” book as a blog post (I failed to do this for two years in a row)
- Relax (creatively):
- No goals for this one this year – relax!
- Reflect:
- in my gratitude journal “every” day
Projects
Doing things for others.
- NAF
- Successfully hold AutoCon 3 in Prague in May
- Successfully hold AutoCon 4 in the US in November
- ???
- Start a new project that plays to my unique strengths and passions
Money
The spice must flow!
- Collect at least $X in gross profit (this year it’s just enough to cover lifestyle plus moderate savings)
- Invest $Y in retirement brokerage accounts (keep this going, while focusing more on building for the future)
- Maintain $Z in “cash” savings (a lower bar during this year of establishing new projects; as long as we don’t dip further into savings, we win)
Fin
That’s all folks – hope your 2025 is off to a fabulous start.
