Go Slow to Go Far
I like to do things quickly, and this has always been true. I naturally walk, talk, gesticulate, and think at speed. A loved one told me she'd spent a languorous morning with tea and a book, which was genuinely hard to imagine, because by 10am I had gone for a walk, done yoga, had breakfast, meditated, read, called two friends, and reviewed my email.
Nonetheless, I have done the most healing and achieved my biggest goals, including becoming a Somatic Coach, by learning to slow down substantially. But there's still a part of me that wants to sprint through difficult seasons and come out transformed on the other side by next Tuesday.
I think about this a lot in my work. One of the questions I hear most often from prospective clients is some version of: "How long will this take?" I get it completely. When there’s a change you want, you’re exhausted, or you’ve been living with the residue of trauma, you want transformation now. You probably wanted it last year. It’s easy to push the timeline.
As we’re approaching the halfway mark of this calendar year, what changes are you wanting in your life? What are your goals?
And what are you pushing forward with the intensity of a steamroller?
The urgency itself can work against change. When we're desperate for relief or achievement, it's easy to pursue huge emotional releases, overanalyze every experience, consume endless healing content, and try to fix ourselves with intensity. From that flooded place, the nervous system often responds with exactly what we were trying to escape: more anxiety, overwhelm, pain, shutdown, and dissociation.
Over time, in my own body and in my work with clients, I've learned that embodied change on any topic happens through safety and being with, not through speed or urgency.
In somatic work, we call this titration: taking small steps and manageable amounts of sensation, emotion, activation at a time, then resourcing, so we don't overwhelm the system. The body changes and we get to what we desire through repetition, rhythm, and trust, not force.
This doesn't mean change is always slow. But letting go of urgency about the timeline is often part of the healing itself.
Go slow to go far.
If this resonates and you've been wondering whether somatic work might help you move towards your desires, I have a few openings right now for 1:1 coaching. To learn more, book a free consult with me today.
