Do Slow-Motion People Have Advantages?

Most often in the slow-motion mode, Type “B” personalities are definitely unhooked.

They read slowly, eat slowly, speak slowly – and generally drive fast-forward people crazy! Slow-motion people are easy-going and rarely harried. They take time. They’re contemplative, steady-working, and not easily irritated.

I’m not saying that one type of personality is better than the other. The stuck, fast-forward people, without management, can drive themselves into an early grave. On the other hand, the stuck slow-motion people, without a little motivation, can bore themselves to death. Knowing which personality describes you is not as important as knowing your own tendencies and learning how to manage them.

People who meet me for the first time rarely think I’m a fast-forward person, but a closer evaluation of my behavior clearly shows that I am. After training, however, I’ve learned to manage myself relatively well.

This training has been well worth my time because my research shows that fast-forward people make up only 20 percent of the population, yet they account for 80 percent of the people who have heart disease.

Coronary heart disease is common in fast-forward people in their thirties or forties, while slow-motion people rarely experience heart trouble before age seventy. The life span of the average fast-forward person individual is fourteen years shorter than her or his slow-motion counterpart — fifty-nine years compare to seventy-three.

Furthermore, a lot can be experienced and accomplished during those additional fourteen years. More than one survey has shown that a majority of the very top executives who are highly efficient and productive have more slow-motion characteristics than fast-forward. These people work out of a sense of purpose rather than compulsion. They enjoy their play time and set aside time for their loved ones. Most important, they know their worth apart from their work. They know they are worthy individuals because of who they are.