Carl Honore praises slowness

Carl Honore talks about today’s fast paced society and that most people need to slow down. There is slow movement in which people are savouring the moment rather than trying to keep up with a tight schedule. "Things that are slow in nature we try to speed up" This is especially true in western society, the will strive for excellence in one aspect of life (longer working hours) risks throwing other aspects by the wayside. "In other cultures time is cyclical its seen as moving in great unhurried circles its always renewing and refreshing itself. While in the west time is linear it is a finite resource you either use it or lose it... "Time is money as Benjamin Franklin once said". This creates a psychological burden on people in which they are constantly trying to speed up. But "there is this global backlash against the idea that tells us that faster is better. and that busier is best... although conventional wisdom tells you that if you slow down your road kill but it turns out the opposite is true." Honore calls this the international slow movement. He provides examples of how certain workplaces across the world work hours are going down for many this means hourly productivity has gone up "countries in Europe notably Nordic Europe have shown that its possible to have a kick ass economy with out having to be a workaholic, Norway, Sweden and Finland have become part of the top six most competitive markets and they work the number of hours that would make the average American weep with envy." This is effective for some but very difficult for certain nations (western society) to implement as they see it as a cultural taboo. Speed is fun its sexy and the adrenaline rush can be intoxicating. "Speed is a metaphysical dimension a way of walling or selves off from more deeper questions, we fill our heads with business with distraction so we don't ask ourselves "am I well?, am I happy?, are my children growing up right?, are politicians making good decisions on my behalf?". Of course slow is not the whole answer there is a bad kind of slow. But there is also such thing as good slow. Carl Honore states that slowing down can greatly enrich life as it lets you savour the moment.

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Carl Honore praises slowness
www.ted.com

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