As we’ve come to the end of the first quarter of the year, this is a great time to reflect, learn, and plan. Of course, I hope you’ve made health and self-care an area of priority this year, but beyond health goals, if you’re anything like my clients, maybe you wanted to get back into playing the guitar or learning Italian, for example.

I remember an exercise science class I took in grad school. We were discussing physical performance development in athletes in order to help them gain strength, power, agility, and speed through training out on the field, court, or weight room.

In a world that’s constantly trying to find ways to speed things up, it’s important to remember that living life at a faster pace comes at a cost. Sure, speed is fun and entertaining, but is it worth what it does to our attention span and lack of presence (for both ourselves and others)? The more you see things speed up, the more you’ll see books, articles (like this one), and classes helping you slow down.