Shortcut to a Longer Route

I was out for lunch, sitting by the window and watching the world go by. A number of times I saw a number of people walking through the car park and cutting down the side of the shops to get to the main road. They were taking a shortcut to the train station, rather than walking the long way round which would have taken about 2 minutes longer.

Shortcuts are everywhere in life, not just on journeys, we’ve all taken them, whether it is to walk or drive less to get to our destination or turning the temperature up higher in the oven to get dinner cooking quicker which we really know doesn’t work too well.

We do it to save time, be quick to move things forward rather than wait or take longer. In the moment, shortcuts can feel beneficial.

We rush around so much trying to save time here and there to get to the next thing, but sometimes you can’t rush things. Sometimes, you need to go on the journey that takes longer as much as we would prefer to skip ahead.

For example, if you want to be a nurse, doctor or vet, you can’t know everything in a few weeks, instead it takes years. It takes a lot of time and hard work to gain the skills and knowledge before you are ready to practice without help. Plus, would you feel confident putting your health in the hands of someone who hadn’t completed the necessary qualifications.

I am impatient, not because I am demanding, but because I feel I am running out of time to do everything. However, I know taking shortcuts in numerous areas in life, can often lead to a longer route, due to having to take a step back and cover old ground again or to start again as it didn’t work out as planned. So proceed with caution when it comes to taking shortcuts.

What areas in life are you looking to take shortcuts in? Love? Career? Body?

With love, as both The Supremes and Phil Collins sang ‘You can’t hurry love’. It’s true you can’t. It takes time to meet people, and rushing into things and taking shortcuts will only cause problems in the long run.

For example, you see it on ‘Married at First Sight’. Most of these people are genuinely looking for love and feel this is a way to meet the person of their dreams. But they skip the stage of getting to know the person first, falling in love and instead just jump straight into a wedding and a commitment to hope it works out. For most it doesn’t, no matter what the experts think.

When you meet someone, you want to get to know each other, find out what makes the other tick and what annoying habits they have and most importantly how they make you feel. You want to go on an adventure together, and navigate the ups and downs, figuring it out as you go. Jumping ahead and diving straight into a long term commitment, you miss out on this exploration.

When you love someone you love them, annoying habits and all. You have to learn what you and your partners love language is. Plus, the point of dating is to meet people you like, have fun getting to know them, and if you don’t feel it’s right, you move on. You want it to feel right before you make a commitment, not just turn up on your wedding day, say hello, I do and hope for the best. Any shortcuts, the relationship is likely to end in disaster.

What do you do for a living? Did you have to train for a long time to build up you knowledge and skills to do the job or did you learn on the job? Perhaps a little of both in most cases. You didn’t just jump in and get on with it.

What does a typical day look like in your job – if there is such a thing? Do you have to follow processes and/or procedures? Are these strict? If you do, what would happen if you missed a few steps to take a shortcut and get to the end point? Would it cause issues? You might find yourself finishing faster but the work will likely be a bit shoddy. For example a housebuilder would need to lay foundations, if they didn’t then the structure wouldn’t be solid and the likelihood is the house would fall down after a period of time, if not quickly.

Are you looking to lose weight? If so, then you’ll know all these diets out there that promise you’ll lose about 20lbs in a month or two are not going to last. Initially they will work, but then what happens when you really want to eat the burger and chips? You eat it, feel guilty and either fall off the wagon completely and put the weight back on, or you continue onwards, feeling restricted.

Instead of going down this shortcut, build a healthy lifestyle. Work out what food helps you to stay in shape, what you enjoy and start working on your eating habits and exercise habits. You can get the body you want, but it will take hard work and effort. Shortcuts now, will just set you back in the future. Focus on having a healthy body and mind and make it a long term commitment.

Whatever you do in life, you need to lay the foundations first, to build upon it to get to the end result you are looking for. Shortcuts when walking will be ok, as long as you are careful on your path to your final destination and you aren’t taking risks. But in life, you need to think longer term.

Enjoy your journey no matter the length. Be patient, sometimes a longer journey brings more reward and satisfaction.

Have a great week and thank you for reading.

Look after you,.

Love Emma xx