Should you be fast in life? I think so.

I’ve seen a couple of stories musing on whether life is a marathon, sprint, or in between (“intervals”). As much as I like running, these analogies are all cliche. Neither. Life’s too complicated, and the individual situations are too diverse to be compared to any narrow experience. However, the question of how fast you should strive to be in life — in business, in various endeavors, in relationships — is a real choice we face often, I think.

One part of me, the supposedly older and wiser one, points to the need to slow down. Different words and expressions come to mind. Patience. Sleeping over things. Digest. Slow down. Maturity is at odds with hastiness. Take your time. Pace yourself (oh, running again!). Don’t rush. Don’t try to force things in this already very intense life. I’ve been in several situations where I made the mistake of overreacting and rushing with unnecessary communication or emotions. They were real consequences — lost business opportunities and damaged reputation.

But then I recently watched one social media influencer say that to be successful, you must move fast. Aggressively fast.

As I think about different concrete situations, I tend to agree.

Certainly in business. Being slow in business is a slow death from all perspectives. You have to be fast to the market, or else you lose to competitors, and you’re less likely to find funding for the business — if you’re relying on external money. But it’s deeper than that. The concept of “momentum” is…