The New "H" Word

How many times do you yell, "HURRY!" I was listening to myself the other day and I think I said it about 10 times in one minute.  Hurry to the car, Hurry to the bus, Hurry to eat, Hurry to the bath, Hurry to bed...until I couldn't remember why we were hurrying everywhere!  I know we live in a fast paced world and we get behind because we take on too many commitments.  But, who really pays the price of that word, "Hurry"?  Our nervous system, that's who.  Or our kids nervous systems or our spouse or our employees or even our poor pets.  There is a cascade reaction when the nervous system gets stressed.  A nice little chemical called Cortisol gets dumped in to the blood stream.  Now Cortisol is really handy if you are being chased by a bear or a tiger.  It speeds up your heart rate and your breathing so you can quickly get more energy to be able to run or fight or whatever is needed.  But, when there's no bear or tiger, it's quite an unpleasant experience to get a dump of cortisol.  Think about when you go to change lanes on the freeway and suddenly realize someone is there or almost run a red light, that's cortisol.  After listening to myself say "Hurry" a billion times I started linking it to a small (or large depending on the tone of my voice) cortisol dump.  It was happening inside my own body and I guarantee it was happening inside of my kids little bodies.  And for what?  A Bear?? A Lion??  Nope.  Soccer.  Or shoes.  Or even school.  Is that how I want to be sending my little kiddos off to a day of school?  With a nice little cortisol dump?  Here, Sam,  now "HURRY!" or you're gonna be late.  (But then go right inside and sit perfectly still and forget that inside of you there's a feeling of being chased by a bear!)  Sigh.  So, here's the thing.  Society as made us all a bit crazy at times.  The pressure to keep up and not be late is intense.  But, I'm gonna say that there's a new swear word in town.  The new "H" word at our house is H-U-R-R-Y.  Hurry.  And it's like swearing.  I've been trying really hard to not say it.  Instead I say, "hey, we're running behind here", or "do the best you can ok?"  or just say nothing and take a few breaths and realize the world won't stop revolving if you're late.  OR here's something to think about.....maybe planning a little more next time so you won't be late at all.  Just a thought.  (you know you can not be late to things you really decide not to be late to).   Regardless of the outcome, just decide you're not gonna say it and then don't.  Spare your kids and eventually yourself the cortisol dump that leads to increased anxiety and agitation.  Who knows but that one small change will help your kids and yourself feel more peaceful and less stressed.  And couldn't we all use just a little more of that?  So, cheers, to making the "H" word just a little less of an every-day-matter!!!