Ugh…it felt so slow.

A shoulder injury forced me to alter how I climb stairs at the gym.  I lowered my speed 30% so as not to strain my shoulder by pulling myself up with the handrails. This seemed very slow.

I was shocked to see a 30% reduction in my speed only reduced the calories I burned by 1% in the same amount of time.

My heart rate was the same as at the higher speed. This intrigued the engineer in me.  Then, I remembered the formula:

Work = force x distance

The amount of work done is not a function of speed. While it felt slow to shift to centered* movement, I accomplished just as much.

Center is the new fast in a couple ways

1. Centering creates more awareness and therefore lessens the likelihood of error.
2. Ironically, the more centered you are the faster you can move!  Indy cars are a great example.

Remember, the next time you are racing around holding your breath trying to get things done, speed is not a function of work…’center is the new fast!’ Breathe and refocus.

How do you ‘center?’

*Center is an internal state of balance.  In Spiral Impact terms I call it the calm eye of the storm.  This concept is at the center of how we teach conflict mastery.

Develop Power with Grace. 
Asking thoughtful questions is one aspect.
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