Hurrying and delaying are alike ways of trying to resist the present. — Alan Watts

Hurrying and delaying are alike ways of trying to resist the present.

Author: Alan Watts

Insight: We usually think of hurrying and delaying as opposites—one is rushing ahead, the other is dragging your feet. But Watts catches something subtle: they're both forms of escape. When you rush through your day, checking items off a list, you're not really there for any of it. When you procrastinate, you're also not there—you're stuck in anxiety about something you're not doing. Both moves are ways of saying "I don't want to be here right now." The tension shows up constantly. You speed through breakfast scrolling your phone because the present moment feels boring or anxious. You put off a difficult conversation because the present moment feels uncomfortable. You fill your commute with podcasts or worry about tomorrow. The irony is that both strategies fail at what they're trying to do. Hurrying doesn't actually let you escape the present—it just means you're resisting it while it happens anyway. Delaying doesn't reduce the discomfort; it usually multiplies it. What Watts suggests is almost radical: that peace comes from actually being where you are, even when it's uncomfortable. Not numbing it, not outrunning it, not postponing it. This doesn't mean slowing down for aesthetic reasons or practicing mindfulness as another achievement to check off. It means recognizing that the present is the only place you actually live.

Source: The Wisdom of Insecurity, p. 85, 1951