During undergrad, my journals were filled with uplifting phrases such as:

• “Nothing worth having comes easy” (also my phone background for a year)
• “Work hard in the silence, let success be your noise”
• “Be stronger than your strongest excuse”

These ideas served a simple purpose: to motivate. And I must admit, they did their jobs well. When faced with an impossible challenge, I’d often turn to these quotes to boost my willingness to get things done. Without them, activities such as studying under fatigue, training for a marathon or writing when it was hard would’ve taken more effort to complete, more than I might’ve been willing to give.

It seems intuitive that doing more > doing less, which is what productivity is: output per unit of input. But why? Part of the reason is probably cultural, illustrated by the stereotypical Asian kid that unknowingly finds themselves playing Mozart, attending weekend tuition and participating in team sports before the age of seven. To do any less would be wasting time. In addition, ideologies from the Industrial Revolution might’ve fuelled this productivity obsession. 50 units/hour beats 20 units/hr no matter how you look at it, right?

Reasons aside, I sometimes wonder what one can miss in the quest for productivity. There’s a certain short-sightedness – a myopia that comes with getting stuck in the fast lane, for when one moves quickly, the surroundings become a blur. Usually, sights in the periphery are distracting to the highly productive driver’s goal, so ignoring them is fine. But if something important or fantastic pops up outside – say, a crucial warning or a flying turtle – missing such moments can be costly.

It pains me to admit that during my highly neurotic periods, where every hour of my day was planned to optimise for productivity, I ignored many surrounding scenes involving family, relationships and world events. And for what, H1s, running PBs? It’s sadly ironic that in the egocentric pursuit for self-improvement, you risk losing yourself in the process.

Of course, this isn’t to say that high productivity should be eliminated: getting things done is a necessary component of any functioning system. Without those motivational phrases, I might not be writing this today. But I wonder what would happen if us drivers in the fast lane would notice our surroundings more, occasionally moving to the slow lane and even stepping out to observe the complex world around us. Slowing down in an increasingly speedy world – how many great insights could we uncover?

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Dear reader, one headline that many are slowing down for is the Black Lives Matter movement. Yet, it’s important to acknowledge that injustices occur all across the world and have been for a long time, before means of extensive media coverage. The issue is greater than what meets the eye. One idea I’d like to put forward is to slow down to a deeper level: one to the point of empathy, for if we suspend our egos and step into another’s world, great acts can occur. So whether you decide to donate to a charity, share your voice on social media or simply read up on other news, please do so with another person in mind.

Learning to stand in somebody else’s shoes, to see through their eyes, that’s how peace begins. And it’s up to you to make that happen. Empathy is a quality of character that can change the world.

Barack Obama