Six Ways to Slow Down Smart

Take a hike if you can't be humble. Mother Nature dwarfs big egos. Several times, I had to swallow my pride and admit that I couldn't keep up with Liv. Sometimes I needed to slow down or stop, even though she could go another five miles. Other times, I kept going even though I wanted to slow down. You've got to know your limits and your teammates' limits. It comes down to trust and communication -- Antarctica is a place that demands total honesty.

Take in the view, the whole view. You're making decisions that affect the whole expedition, not just one day on the ice. So you can't get swept away by the day-to-day struggle. Pull away to rest and reflect on the big picture. Perspective keeps you grounded.

Take fun seriously. It's easy to lose sight of purpose. Slowing down reminds you that the journey is supposed to be fun. We didn't go one day on the ice without laughing, and there were some pretty dark days.

Ann Bancroft (ann@yourexpedition.com) and her teammate, Liv Arnesen, were the first women to cross Antarctica's landmass by foot. The former schoolteachers completed the 1,717 mile, 94-day trek in February 2001. During the expedition, Bancroft called in daily via satellite phone to post messages on a Web site that reached more than three million children worldwide. In 1998, Bancroft helped found yourexpedition, a for-profit venture established to promote the recent trek across Antarctica. For their next project, the explorers are launching Bancroft Arnesen Explore, a set of programs dedicated to promoting women's and young girls' achievements in exploration.

Stewart Brand

Founder and president
The Long Now Foundation
San Francisco, California
Cofounder
Global Business Network
Emeryville, California

For years, the fashion was to sprint, collapse, and then get up and go for it again. It was the do-more-faster age, so people did more faster. But was it better? There wasn't enough time for relaxed thinking. In fact, people were often punished if they let their mind drift. Today, however, you can afford to step back and chase idle thoughts. That's the whole point of downtime: to wander around and pick up anything that arouses your curiosity.

If you don't have to sprint, why would you? What's urgent isn't truly important. The urgent finds you; you have to find the important. So when you're going as fast as you can, there's not much room for choice. Between urgencies, however, you can work on the stuff that you really care about because you can afford to slow down. Importance is not fast. It is slow. It is not superficial. It is deep. And as a result, it's extremely powerful. When important matters go wrong, they undermine everything. When they go right, they sustain everything.

Important work usually means dealing with longer-term issues, and it naturally serves as a slowing frame of reference. Take philanthropy, for example. It's not only good for the sake of helping others. It's how fast, smart people with their fast, smart money slow down smart. The things that you're interested in, concerned about, and active in will outlast your next job. Ultimately, they will become a part of your life. So giving back is exactly what we should be doing with some of our time, mind, and remaining money. We should be investing in the slow, civilization-building infrastructure stuff: education for everybody, the safekeeping of the natural environment, and the generational scale of families, regions, and industries.

It's also a smart time to check in with your gut feeling. If it feels good, go for it. I'm impressed by the people who got fired and are cruising into the world with what's left of their money. Instead of scrambling for their next job, they're hitchhiking around Europe. They will be refreshed when they dive back into work. By stepping back, you get a sense of your role within the larger story.

Stewart Brand (sb@gbn.com), a new-economy consultant and thought leader, is helping build the world's slowest computer in an effort to promote long-term responsibility. The computer, funded by the Long Now Foundation, a nonprofit organization committed to advancing "slower, better" thinking, will keep time for the next 10,000 years. Brand also devotes his time to the Global Business Network, a worldwide learning community that explores global futures and business strategy for multinationals. Brand is the founding editor of the original Whole Earth Catalog and the author of several books, including How Buildings Learn: What Happens After They're Built (Viking, 1994).