 When I was dealing with my own anxiety problems and I had to remember to try to slow down instead of speeding up It just makes things worse. I kept forgetting So one night I came up with this idea to remind myself to go seven percent slower not because I could that's not really measurable But seven percent is an absurd enough number a ridiculous enough number and an easy enough to remember number that it stuck It stuck in my head and I was able to practice going slower and things got better That natural tendency to speed up and rush through things is part of the fear anxiety and stress response Right, so that's part of the lizard brain response that says you are in some sort of danger or under some sort of threat Part of escaping that and remaining safe is to go fast Anxious people and I used to be one of that will will say almost universally like yes, that's true when I'm really anxious and afraid I am tripping over my words. I'm fumbling. I'm dropping things. I'm rushing around I'm just acting like it was some sort of cracked-out mongoose and it's not working out for me But when everything primitive and survival related in your brain is telling you to speed up You ain't gonna slow down unless you have literally mapped out a way to do that practice these skills Worked on it repetitively and really made an effort to do this new thing It's not about slowing down so that you do less every day It just means that the things that you are doing you're doing more purposefully more mindfully and in a less frantic state And what most people find is when you start to do things this way Your thinking becomes a little more clear and your actions become more ordered and more effective