"Van Gogh didn't paint "Starry Night" in an afternoon. The substance came through years of technical practice, emotional processing, and artistic evolution." - There is so much gold in this piece. I absolutely loved it. As both an attorney and a writer, I teeter between the fast and slow (work deadlines/obligations vs. creative process). Such a fantastic piece, thanks for sharing.
I love this perspective, Matt! I sometimes wonder if we stay busy because slowing down forces us to face the questions we have been avoiding. When we slow down, we are no longer just escaping our calendars…we also stop escaping ourselves.
Perhaps that is exactly why slowing down feels so difficult, yet so necessary.
Wisdom, trust, and clarity rarely emerge from urgency. They need the one thing we struggle most to give them (and ourselves): TIME.
"Fast work optimizes for metrics. Slow work optimizes for meaning." "It's choosing to plant seeds that will grow into forests rather than picking fruit from someone else's orchard." "When you can't rely on speed to create excitement, you must rely on depth to create value." 💎 Some of the gems that resonated most with me. Appreciate you and your work, Matt 🙏🏻
Appreciate the contrarian viewpoint. I’ve been taking my time on Substack for the last 2 years, working on rebuilding my writing voice - first it came out as poetry. Then essays. Now I enjoy elements of both with story and adding audio. Next up, I plan to start integrating video.
Amazing brother! I took all the time I needed and I continue to love the process. It's about establishing a pace that works for ourselves and iterating the pieces along the way.
100% - the pace is best when it is set by us and for us. I almost published my last piece two weeks ago but hit the pause button… then another draft… and now it’s almost baked.
As a literary fiction writer, the analogy to the process of writing a novel resonated. Writing a compelling novel that leaves readers with something to think about after the novel ends isn't fast work. It's the quality of depth
I’ve always been a fast person. I run fast, walk fast, speak fast, raise my hand fast, and usually work fast too. For a long time, that served me well. When life was more about achievement, speed meant faster results, standing out, and getting ahead.
But recently I’ve been trying to live differently. I want to understand myself more, say what I actually mean instead of just saying it quickly, walk slowly enough to notice what’s around me, and create with more depth. I think the bigger shift is that I want my life and work to feel more true to me, not just successful by the numbers.
And I’m noticing that when the work is about psychology, relationships, or the inner life, my instinct to go fast can actually make me miss what is really there. I rush toward an answer before I’ve understood the thing itself.
Your distinction between noise and mastery made something clearer for me: fast and slow are not simply better or worse. They build different things. Speed is great for getting things done and producing results. But some things, especially the things that involve people, the inner life, and becoming more honest with myself, seem to need time.
I think I’m learning which parts of my life still benefit from speed, and which ones need me to stay long enough to actually see them.
What an amazing and such a needed post honestly! I think fast just feels like it equals value cause time feels so scarce, so speed becomes the easiest way to feel like you're winning in a system that's basically built to reward whatever's immediate. And we get so used to that trade-off we stop even noticing it, then wonder later why none of it actually feels like anything. It really does feels different when you just commit fully to a process you genuinely love, actually digging into it instead of skimming for quick output, and trust depth opens doors speed just can't. We need to be reminded again and again. Thank you for this! ♥️
I love this concept, Matt! I have found for myself that I actually make more meaningful progress when I move slowly and intentionally. Vs spinning my wheels super fast, trying to do everything, and really just burning out and going nowhere. Slow is the way 🦋 (And honestly, it can end up feeling fast when I actually achieve the desired result 😅)
Yes Jess! As they say, "slow is smooth and smooth is fast." I always say "clarity and direction is more important than speed... until you realize it is speed."
Wow, I haven’t come across such incredible content in a while. 😮💨 Thank you, Matt, sincerely.
I’ve been feeling pressured to post already, but I just don’t feel ready. I need to take my time and write the piece that I truly want to share, rather than rushing and putting something out there that doesn’t feel authentic or rushed.
"Van Gogh didn't paint "Starry Night" in an afternoon. The substance came through years of technical practice, emotional processing, and artistic evolution." - There is so much gold in this piece. I absolutely loved it. As both an attorney and a writer, I teeter between the fast and slow (work deadlines/obligations vs. creative process). Such a fantastic piece, thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much Sarah! I was definitely in it and highly reflective of my own fast and slow experiences so I get you!
I love this perspective, Matt! I sometimes wonder if we stay busy because slowing down forces us to face the questions we have been avoiding. When we slow down, we are no longer just escaping our calendars…we also stop escaping ourselves.
Perhaps that is exactly why slowing down feels so difficult, yet so necessary.
Wisdom, trust, and clarity rarely emerge from urgency. They need the one thing we struggle most to give them (and ourselves): TIME.
Amen Ugne! That is why Time is the most important asset we have.
So many good words. I love that you stated “ rebellion is slowness” so true , so wise and good reminder.
Thank you so much Christen! And amen!
"Fast work optimizes for metrics. Slow work optimizes for meaning." "It's choosing to plant seeds that will grow into forests rather than picking fruit from someone else's orchard." "When you can't rely on speed to create excitement, you must rely on depth to create value." 💎 Some of the gems that resonated most with me. Appreciate you and your work, Matt 🙏🏻
Thank you brother! Always appreciate you right back!
Appreciate the contrarian viewpoint. I’ve been taking my time on Substack for the last 2 years, working on rebuilding my writing voice - first it came out as poetry. Then essays. Now I enjoy elements of both with story and adding audio. Next up, I plan to start integrating video.
Amazing brother! I took all the time I needed and I continue to love the process. It's about establishing a pace that works for ourselves and iterating the pieces along the way.
100% - the pace is best when it is set by us and for us. I almost published my last piece two weeks ago but hit the pause button… then another draft… and now it’s almost baked.
As a literary fiction writer, the analogy to the process of writing a novel resonated. Writing a compelling novel that leaves readers with something to think about after the novel ends isn't fast work. It's the quality of depth
Amen Faith!
Resonance is a great metric. :)
Amen Amen!
You’re really speaking to me with this one, Matt.
I’ve always been a fast person. I run fast, walk fast, speak fast, raise my hand fast, and usually work fast too. For a long time, that served me well. When life was more about achievement, speed meant faster results, standing out, and getting ahead.
But recently I’ve been trying to live differently. I want to understand myself more, say what I actually mean instead of just saying it quickly, walk slowly enough to notice what’s around me, and create with more depth. I think the bigger shift is that I want my life and work to feel more true to me, not just successful by the numbers.
And I’m noticing that when the work is about psychology, relationships, or the inner life, my instinct to go fast can actually make me miss what is really there. I rush toward an answer before I’ve understood the thing itself.
Your distinction between noise and mastery made something clearer for me: fast and slow are not simply better or worse. They build different things. Speed is great for getting things done and producing results. But some things, especially the things that involve people, the inner life, and becoming more honest with myself, seem to need time.
I think I’m learning which parts of my life still benefit from speed, and which ones need me to stay long enough to actually see them.
Amen! What a great reflection as well. Thank you so much for reading this and I'm grateful it resonated so much.
What an amazing and such a needed post honestly! I think fast just feels like it equals value cause time feels so scarce, so speed becomes the easiest way to feel like you're winning in a system that's basically built to reward whatever's immediate. And we get so used to that trade-off we stop even noticing it, then wonder later why none of it actually feels like anything. It really does feels different when you just commit fully to a process you genuinely love, actually digging into it instead of skimming for quick output, and trust depth opens doors speed just can't. We need to be reminded again and again. Thank you for this! ♥️
Amen! And thank you for reading this. I'm so grateful it resonated. I think we all need a bit of a slow down.
I love this concept, Matt! I have found for myself that I actually make more meaningful progress when I move slowly and intentionally. Vs spinning my wheels super fast, trying to do everything, and really just burning out and going nowhere. Slow is the way 🦋 (And honestly, it can end up feeling fast when I actually achieve the desired result 😅)
Yes Jess! As they say, "slow is smooth and smooth is fast." I always say "clarity and direction is more important than speed... until you realize it is speed."
Hope your LA speaking went amazingly last weekend 🤗🤗
Thank you Jess! It was amazing!
Mmm! That second quote! 👌👌 So good! Hanging on to that for sure :)
🙌🏼🙌🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Can’t wait!!! It’s gonna be FIRE🔥
Wow, I haven’t come across such incredible content in a while. 😮💨 Thank you, Matt, sincerely.
I’ve been feeling pressured to post already, but I just don’t feel ready. I need to take my time and write the piece that I truly want to share, rather than rushing and putting something out there that doesn’t feel authentic or rushed.
Amen Lyla! I think we can all use the reminders from time to time :)