Everyone I know has been sick! We are in the midst of cold and flu season and wherever you go these days, you see and hear people coughing, sneezing and wiping their runny noses. "To get the flu shot vs. to not get the flu shot" is being debated at dinner tables and around water coolers like the trending topic that it is. My own family was recently impacted by sickness over the Christmas holiday and it forced us to cancel plans and reschedule get-togethers. As disappointing as that was, we were also forced to do something that is as rare to us as seeing a total lunar eclipse. We were grounded. We were housebound. Our calendars were cleared and our cars went un-started for so long that one of them ended up with a dead battery. Our 10-day quarantine turned out to be a pleasant and welcome gift. We watched holiday movies and caught up on our Netflix queue, we slept more and rushed around much less. We lingered over meals and read the books that had been waiting for us on our nightstands. What I soon came to realize was that, in addition to our recent virus diagnoses, we had also been suffering from something called "Hurry Up Syndrome." I did not make up this term. It is an actual syndrome that was coined, not by the healthcare system, but by the aviation industry.
The term "hurry up syndrome" is used to describe "when pilots make the wrong decisions because of a real or perceived need to rush through their tasks". Hurry Up Syndrome has been identified as the cause of many aviation safety incidents, including some of the most catastrophic in history. Many studies have been done over the years to determine if time-pressure-related flight regimes and scenarios contributed to pilot errors. I am not a frequent flyer, nor am I an aviation expert. All I know for sure is that "Hurry Up Syndrome" can and will impact more than just the airline industry.
According to Dr. James Reason, who was a Professor of Psychology at the University of Manchester, this time crunch that we operate under "increases the chance that we will make a mistake by 11 times." When we suffer from this "sickness", we tend to make decisions under pressure and based more on emotion than relying on facts which may end up negatively impacting our perspective and judgment and eliminating our reasonableness and rational thinking.
"Hurry Up Syndrome" can also have a very detrimental impact on our health. This, I am sure, comes as no surprise. When we are racing around trying to get everything done, our heart rates go up and our body produces more cortisol because it perceives that we are in "fight or flight" mode. Long gone are the days of running from saber tooth tigers. Now we are running just to keep pace with the demands of our employers, missed deadlines, never-ending emails, texts and phone calls and all of the other things that trigger our chronic repetitive stress response. Forty years ago, there was a cardiologist who recognized that nearly every one of his heart-disease patients lived a hurried lifestyle. Think about how much more fast-paced our lives are now than forty years ago! This in and of itself should be a wake-up call that we need to slow down...way down.
In addition to reducing our ability to make sound decisions and ruining our health, hurry up syndrome can also cause us to miss those special moments that make up the happiest parts of our lives. Were you running around so much preparing for the holidays that you didn't have time to enjoy them yourself? We spend a lot of time and money to beautifully decorate our homes, cook elaborate and delicious meals and send the perfect cards...then we are too busy to sit down and relax next to the tree, we rush through our meals, we fail to honor and appreciate our traditions, and we don't even take the time to read the incoming cards we received from our loved ones. Then the holidays come to an end and we are back to "life as normal" which is more fast paced than ever.
I spent some time right before Christmas with several religious sisters that live in our area convents. I visited two different convents on two different days. The addresses and religious orders of the Sisters were different. However, there were similarities that stood out. What I noticed about these incredibly wonderful women is that they live life at a different pace than my family and friends and I are accustomed to. My visits were scheduled in between the various appointments and obligations that I had on those two days. I had allowed for what I believed was "plenty of time" to visit, catch up and share in "holiday cheer" during my already crammed schedule. What I underestimated was that a meal with the Sisters takes much more time than my day-planner typically allows. I am used to eating a few slices of grilled chicken rolled up in a piece of lettuce for lunch, usually inhaled while standing up and watching the clock for the start time of my next meeting. At the convent, which was beautifully decorated for the holidays, each course of the meal is savored and enjoyed. There is no pressure of "fitting in" the meal before the next appointment. Sitting with each other and sharing the important details of the day are considered the highest priority. As a matter of fact, if I was not wearing my trusted Apple Watch that I knew would remind me when it was time to dash out and go pick up my sons from school, I would have lost all track of time...there wasn't a clock to be found in the dining room at the convent. What a lovely time I had with these very special women! We talked about politics, sports, television, the day's headlines and the latest news coming out of the diocese. They asked each other how they were doing and these ladies took the time to really hear the answers. It was very apparent how deeply they care for one another as well as how much compassion and concern they have for the community they so graciously and generously serve. We enoyed what my grandfather used to call "soup to nuts", meaning that lunch did not consist of a mere sandwich or a lettuce roll-up, but rather, it included everything from soup to salad, cheese and crackers, fruit, an entree and of course, a lovely dessert. As I watched these women, all of whom I believe are 1-4 decades older than me, I soon realized that they had discovered what is in the "secret sauce." There did not seem to be anyone in residence suffering from Hurry Up Syndrome. These very intelligent and caring women are not in a hurry. They take time to pray each day, they enjoy their meals and their time with one another, they make sure to get enough sleep, and despite having many hours of worktime each day, they enjoy socializing with others...and they make time in their lives for it. It reminded me of my grandparents and how they chose to live. They enjoyed their meals, they made lots of time to socialize with their friends over long card games and endless pots of coffee and plates of pastries, and they often reminded me to "slow down and enjoy life." By the way, they lived to their 90's. Was their lifestyle due to the fact that they were born in the early 1900's and they enjoyed their lives even though they did not have cell phones, computers or Apple Watches reminding them where they needed to be or what they needed to get done? Or was it because they lived long enough to really appreciate what is important in life?
When we travel, whether it is for business or pleasure, there are always "Slow Down" signs on the roadside and "Do Not Disturb" hangers ready to be placed over the hotel doorknob. They serve as pleasant and well-received reminders of the importance of taking things at a slower pace. I don't think we need these signs to remind us what to do on vacation. What we really need are these signs in our homes, to remind us on a daily basis to slow down, turn off our phones and watches, and enjoy the life we have built for ourselves with those we love and cherish. Does this mean we have to go back to the early 1900's or live in a convent to learn to live at a slower pace? Of course not. We can enjoy a restful and healthy life if we just remember to pay attention to the signs. While they may not yet have found a cure for the flu or the common cold, we all know what we have to do to treat the sickness known as Hurry Up syndrome. You have what it takes to cure yourself...take the time today to start the healing process.
