Often, when I have to complete a task quickly, I recall the voice of Ms. M., my gym teacher during second, fourth, and fifth grades. During activities that required us to run fast, she'd prod all of us by saying, "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry! Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!" I remember the 600-yard run-walk on the annual physical fitness test giving her multiple opportunities to hurry us along.
I never understood why it was so crucial to get to the finish line while running out of breath. I often thought, "We're not racing to put out a fire or defuse a bomb. Why are we supposed to hurry?"
I'll admit, however, that I've internalized those memories for over three decades. When I take a call at work as other calls wait in the queue, I do my best to type and send the necessary information quickly, all the while thinking, "Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!"
You never know what aspects of your past will bury themselves deep in your psyche, only to come up years later in a new context.
