STOP, just for a moment, to consider the way we live. Everything we do and own is about speed - fast food, fast commute, fast internet access, fast communication, fast solutions, fast results and fast fixes. Most of the First World is in frenzy over doing more in less time, with new technology and gadgets that claim to organise our activity-centred lives and make the chaos manageable, if that's even possible.
So what's wrong with that? Certainly, life is more convenient now than it has ever been. But these days, the average work day is no longer 9 to 5. Instead we rise at the crack of dawn to beat rush hour traffic. We even eat at our desks during lunch and we're chained to our workstations till past 7pm because leaving work for tomorrow isn't an option. We continue this formula - until we realise our diaries are liberally sprinkled with more doctors' appointments that social events.
We need to take a chill pill. Seriously. We've been pulling ahead at full speed for the longest time that it has become normal. In 2007, after the British Council carried out research, it was discovered that Singapore was the fastest moving city in the world. It was based on the calculation of the average time it took for people to walk an 18m stretch. Apparently, we clock in just over 10 seconds - New York City and London, eat our dust.
Then again, slowing things down might be a lot harder than you'd think. You would think that after all these years of research and development to make our lives easier and more efficient, we would have more time to relax. But in shortening the duration of our activities - an SMS instead of a phone call, 10 minutes on the Power Plate instead of an hour's gym session - all we have done is created more time to do ... More things.
All this running around seems to have bred unhealthy levels of stress, related illness, an intolerance for anything or anyone who cannot keep up with our pace. If we're not served our food on time, we kick up a stink and demand to see the manager. We zip pass any elderly person who happens to be tottering ahead of us. Is getting our way really worth the stress? We really need to take stock of what's become of us. Expectations and attitudes need to change. And maybe it should start with me and you.
So what's wrong with that? Certainly, life is more convenient now than it has ever been. But these days, the average work day is no longer 9 to 5. Instead we rise at the crack of dawn to beat rush hour traffic. We even eat at our desks during lunch and we're chained to our workstations till past 7pm because leaving work for tomorrow isn't an option. We continue this formula - until we realise our diaries are liberally sprinkled with more doctors' appointments that social events.
We need to take a chill pill. Seriously. We've been pulling ahead at full speed for the longest time that it has become normal. In 2007, after the British Council carried out research, it was discovered that Singapore was the fastest moving city in the world. It was based on the calculation of the average time it took for people to walk an 18m stretch. Apparently, we clock in just over 10 seconds - New York City and London, eat our dust.
Then again, slowing things down might be a lot harder than you'd think. You would think that after all these years of research and development to make our lives easier and more efficient, we would have more time to relax. But in shortening the duration of our activities - an SMS instead of a phone call, 10 minutes on the Power Plate instead of an hour's gym session - all we have done is created more time to do ... More things.
All this running around seems to have bred unhealthy levels of stress, related illness, an intolerance for anything or anyone who cannot keep up with our pace. If we're not served our food on time, we kick up a stink and demand to see the manager. We zip pass any elderly person who happens to be tottering ahead of us. Is getting our way really worth the stress? We really need to take stock of what's become of us. Expectations and attitudes need to change. And maybe it should start with me and you.
No comments:
Post a Comment