The mind that is untroubled by passions is a fortress; the person who withdraws into it is safe. For passions are wild beasts and envy is a poison, and ill-temper an absurdity. – Marcus Aurelius
Reflection
Speed is the water we swim in.
Tabs blink for attention. Notifications whisper like wind through a cracked window, and dashboards pulse, hungry for movement.
We measure progress by merge velocity and how fast we close the loop.
But real craft doesn't move like that.
The best systems don't emerge from urgency.
They unfold in stillness. Over time. Like stone softened by rain.
No one applauds the hours lost in tangled legacy code.
No one sees the moment you stop a refactor because something doesn't sit right.
Or the decision to hold a release, not out of fear, but because something inside you finally clicks.
Not in hesitation but in presence.
Patience has nothing to do with idling.
The hard choices hold steady until what's unclear becomes understood.
To stay in the problem long enough for the noise to settle and the real shape to show itself.
Progress doesn't always look like motion.
Sometimes, it looks like stillness, held under tension until it resolves.
Today's Insight
Patience shows up as focused effort under tension. You do the work without needing recognition.
Action Steps
- Interrupt urgency - Before you act, ask yourself if the need is real or just a reflex.
- Double your threshold - Stay with the bug, the unclear function, and the unrefined design twice as long as you usually would. Clarity often arrives just after discomfort.
- Build in silence - Carve out 90 minutes for uninterrupted thought. If silence isn't possible, create it within. Step back, slow your mind, and breathe through the problem.
- Push back gently - Not every "ASAP" is real. Protect your time to think. You're not stalling; you're avoiding bigger mistakes.
Consider This
Fast code breaks.
Fast fixes unravel.
Fast minds miss what slow minds see.
What might shift if you treated stillness as part of the work?