Rush. Hurry. Urgent. A couple hundred words tell us to get moving. The dictionary is full of them, and so are we. But why are we always in such a hurry?
When I was fresh out of college at my first job in Des Moines, I would debate whether to take I-235 or Grand Avenue to work from my West Des Moines apartment. That was like choosing between a punch in the face or a kick in the kidney. Neither was appealing. Neither was predictable. But what was predictable was that I would wait until the last minute to leave, then drive in a panic to avoid being late. Not exactly a great way to start the day.
Eventually, I learned something simple: leave 30 minutes earlier. Avoid traffic. Arrive with a smile. Get a head start on the day’s tasks. Revolutionary.
The ride home was no different. Cranking a Red Hot Chili Peppers CD probably didn’t help my stress. And, as a young, single guy in the early 1990s, what exactly was I rushing for? A game of darts with my roommates? A re-run of “Cheers”? A trip to the car wash?
Years later, I met newly retired Joe Weeg, a former Polk County prosecutor who is now a CITYVIEW columnist, at our Des Moines office. I walked in our conference room to meet him with my yellow pad and pen. He laughed.
“I remember rushing from one meeting to another, taking notes on those yellow pads,” he said. Then, with a smile, he offered, “Now all I rush for is another cup of coffee.”
Retirement slows some people down. Others just choose to stay in a hurry. Always.
A Georgian proverb says, “He who is in a hurry always arrives late.” And a bumper sticker I saw recently read: “Go ahead and pass me. I left on time.”
The solution to all this hurriedness? It’s simple. Start earlier.
Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital newsletter
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707