While reading Moving Fast but Smooth, I had a question: would my readers think they need not be in a hurry to get it done? Or just assume complacency should be the norm?

At the last Unilag convocation, a student had a perfect score of CGPA (5.0/5.0). This is a great feat, which I would want you to answer: do you think he would achieve this if he was moving slowly?

I am not a first-class student or even close—aha, think about the IQ of your learned folks, yeah. But I roll with a lot of them, as I love being around people who are better than I am. I noticed two things about them.

When they set out to achieve something, they don’t wait until it happens; they make it happen. And when they make it happen, they ensure they have spent all their best efforts on it.

Professionals at the height of their field are often used as a standard and yardstick against others. For them, there is no room for complacency; they must continuously seek out the next challenge and perfectly solve it.

They remain proactive in everything they set out to achieve.

Moving fast but smoothly could make you think, Hey, I am doing good; I only need to take my time to solve this challenge. Yes, that is fine.

Do not forget that while spending your time, you won’t be missed if the world decides to move on from your current position to another.

This might also get you to a place of complacency, where you start thinking, “Hey, I am good here”, since you stopped being proactive in situations—after all, you needed more time to solve them.

People say, “When we stop growing, we start dying.” When your mind gets stuck and you start feeling extremely comfortable with the current situation, you might be dying silently.

I do tell people, “Hey, pressure is good!”

The most rewarding year of my career was straight out of NYSC. During the program, I would travel from my PPA state down to Lagos for interviews. I felt nothing. I would work in my remote software engineering position and perform at my PPA.

I also worked at a school where I was a part-time teacher and still gave tutorials to the children of my then-landlord.

I felt nothing!

It was at this time that I started my blog and got my first international writing gig with Smashing Magazine. Gosh, I was thrilled. After completing my NYSC, I worked at Josplay as a remote software engineer, continued writing and interviewing, and ultimately had the opportunity to work with a UK Startup.

I felt nothing!

These were normal situations for me, and I was under the impression that I was under pressure just as a student would.

Being a student requires multitasking and becoming a master at it to be successful. Attending classes, submitting assignments, organizing departmental programs, mentoring other students, projects, and events.

As a student, I felt almost nothing doing all these; I just wanted to succeed in my program.

But one thing stayed constant: I was doing related things, preparing for the next, and taking my time to refine the process till it got better, which is all the idea of moving fast but smoothly.

During my final exam at Laspotech, a friend said, “Ah, after these, I have to rest.” I told him, Nope, after these, I would try to learn something different and take on another challenge. I think what we failed to realize is that the mind and body, like a machine, have their frictions.

For a body to move from point A to point B, it needs to overcome a force called inertia. Then it needs to keep accelerating, then stop accelerating until its acceleration returns to zero, and then it stops.

When we start to feel pressure, we try to overcome inertia, such as waking up at 4 a.m. to prepare for work or not getting enough sleep. The body becomes accustomed to it and starts feeling normal again, and when it decides to stop, the body gradually returns to its old state, for example, waking up past 7 a.m. or 8 a.m.

And when you need to do this again, you have to overcome this inertia, which is always very hard. Manufacturing companies always keep their production lines running, partly because the advantage they gain from keeping all the different parts of the machine working uniformly, even when not producing, outweighs the disadvantage of shutting them down just because they are not producing.

Always stay under pressure. At all times, seek out new challenges that push your limits. You can take your time to solve the challenge, but keep being proactive in situations that arise.

This is designed to help you stay ahead of the curve while still moving smoothly.

If you drop below the curve, you will not be missed!