Hurry Sickness

Never give up; you never know until you try.

Those of you who know me are probably laughing at the very idea of me advising someone to slow down.   I often say that I was born early and haven't slowed down since.  I've written about this phenomenon sometimes called "Hurry Sickness."  When I want something to happen, I never want it to happen later, whether later during the current day or later in an unforeseen time period.  I always want things yesterday.

I see the same thing in my students, and I'm forever trying to convince them to slow down and take their time when taking a test.  To wait for things to happen in their natural course.  To do the work necessary to facilitate hoped-for outcomes, sure, but to avoid losing patience or hope when the outcomes seem "slow" in coming.  I've discovered, and I advise them, that hurrying through something makes careless mistakes more likely to happen.  Most of us aren't convinced yet.  I wish we'd hurry up and get the message!