Slow is smooth, Smooth is fast: Don’t rush to Failure!

This is one of the most frequently referenced phrases in the Infantry. “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast!”. It’s one of those phrases that hits your brain kind of sideways. I know the first time I heard it as a very young Soldier, I initially nodded in agreement as if to say yeah of course! Immediately afterwards however, I was thinking “what?”. What in the world was that supposed to mean? Lucky for me I still had three and a half years left on my first contract to find out. To this day I’m glad I did!

So, what does it mean? Essentially it’s immediately addressing a new skill set. When you are doing a task for the first time, trying to get more proficient at a task that is important, even creating new habits, slow is smooth and smooth is fast. We used it all the time in regards to room clearing.

If you aren’t slow (deliberate) in what you are doing when you are clearing a room, it can have catastrophic consequences. It could lead to you not checking your corner, not hitting the point of domination appropriate to your spot in the stack, not identifying a hostile, or worse misidentifying a friendly. Ultimately it can result in total mission failure as well as unnecessary loss of life. Not consequences anybody wants! Contrarily if everyone on that stack deliberately (slow) conducted their piece of the puzzle they rarely missed key components, increased overall completion and accuracy, and the end result (in this case violence of action) went FAST.

We didn’t stop there though. In the infantry we threw this phrase around for every possible scenario. Studying for a test? Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Issues with your marriage? Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Struggling with an addiction? Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Working on term paper? Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. It was like a mantra that, when applied as an action, could get you on the road to solving whatever problem you were dealing with.

It’s simple, practice makes proficient, and proficient can lead to perfection! Take your time and really practice and work towards the goal, whatever it is. Be DELIBERATE! Don’t rush to failure. It’s about leveraging how neuro-pathways work in symphony with muscle memory. It takes approximately 30 days for something to become routine. It takes roughly 90 days for that routine to become a habit that’s hard to break. Knowing this helps put the progress being made in perspective.

So, whatever it is you’re going after I encourage you to adopt this philosophy. Whether you’re a leader that has been charged with the launch of a new system, an entrepreneur starting your own business, a couple going through a rough patch, a student working towards an academic goal, or even struggling through an addiction, remember, Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Be deliberate, don’t rush to failure, acknowledge the progress you’ve made, clap for your damn self, and keep pushing forward!