I recently experienced the ultimate reminder to SLOW DOWN and I’m here to share.

Here’s how it went down. Busy Wednesday mid-November. Home for an hour between meetings to eat lunch and get some work done. Starving. Going 100 miles an hour. Cue the incident. No time to cook. Go for a frozen veggie burger. Go to cut two frozen burgers apart with a sharp knife. Stab knife between frozen burgers to separate. Think “bad idea.” Keep going. Cut ring finger. Cue pain and LOTS of blood (will spare further gory details.) Stop in tracks. Cringe. Attend to booboo. Get very nauseous. Get better. Decide to shake it off instead of go to hospital. Live with swollen finger for three months (yes, THREE MONTHS.) Finally go to doctor. Get engagement ring and wedding band sawed off finger. Told severed tendon will not heal without splint. Go to physical therapist. Get splint made. Forced to slow down because everything is slower with a splinted finger.

Curse my own stupidity. Count my blessings. Thankful only a finger. Thankful all limbs working fine. Thankful that recovery is only a month. Thankful for good doctors. Annoyed with self. Regretting going 100 miles an hour. Missing rings desperately. Aggravated that shampooing, cooking, TYPING, holding weights, kettlebells, steering wheel etc. difficult.

See where I’m going with this? If I had just literally taken the extra four seconds (FOUR SECONDS!) to set the gosh darn veggie burgers down and cut them in a safer manner, I would have saved myself hours of nausea, three doctors visits, replacing my wedding and engagement rings with far less-attractive finger splints, hundreds of dollars in medical bills, lots of frustration, and a really silly story to tell.

Point is, we’re all super busy. We’re going, going, going…but, regardless of where it is that we’re going, if we rush, cut corners, and get ahead of ourselves, we’re not living in the moment, we’re not enjoying the ride, and we’re putting ourselves and others at risk of making a silly mistake. Do it right or do it twice and pay the price. I’m paying alright.

This is my reminder to STOP in your tracks. Take a minute to breathe. Really breathe. Allow yourself a break. Reset your speed a bit slower. Enjoy the ride. Embrace the moment. Don’t miss this minute because you’re eager to get to the next. Live in the present. Count your blessings. Hug your loved ones. Be kind. Stay calm. Put the phone down. Practice mindfulness. Do what you do with grace and intention. Work hard. Prepare the meal slowly (and safely.) Taste your food. Chew slowly. Be yourself. Listen to music. Take care of yourself. Find pleasure in everything. Embrace nature. And once again, B R E A T H E. Breathe slowly. Stop every once in a while to check yourself before you wreck yourself. Your to-do list can wait and you’ll need all 10 fingers to be the superhero that you are…trust me!

One Healthy Breakdown: Proceed slowly.