How to Break the "Hurry Up" Habit and Reduce Stress

Do you catch yourself rushing through tasks or finishingother people's sentences? In this episode, we explore why your brain equates speed with safety and how the "Hurry Up" habit is quietly sabotaging your productivity, relationships, and mental health.As part of our miniseries on Adrienne Lee’s “DrowningPerson” model (Transactional Analysis), I’m sharing my personal journey from a high-speed HR leader to reclaiming my peace. Discover the childhood origins of your need for urgency, recognise the warning signs of "Rush Mode,"and learn practical strategies to slow down to speed up yourresults without sacrificing success.What You Will Learn:💡 The Biology of Speed: Why your brain treats slowness as a "danger signal"and keeps you trapped in a constant fight-or-flight state.💡 Childhood Programming: How early messages equating speed with competence create adult patterns of anxiety and hurried decisions.💡 Practical Tools for Calm: From the "School Run Walk of Shame" to the 7-11 Breathing Technique and the 4-3-2 Sensory Exercise.Whether you're balancing a career, family, or personalgrowth, this episode reveals why doing things quickly often backfires - and how to finally break the cycle. Tune in for next week's episode on how to overcome the ‘Pleasing’ patten. Here’s to your leadership development and personal growth! Estelle Read Bestselling Author, Coach & Speaker Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction (01:55) The Hurry Up Pattern Explained(03:12) Core Fear: Missing Something Crucial(03:41) Personal Example: Balancing Retirement & Business(04:33) Origins: Urgency as a Safety Signal(05:01) Childhood Patterns from Parents(05:21) My Confession: Creating This Pattern in My Daughter(06:02) Parenting Stress: The School Run "Walk of Shame"(07:13) How This Pattern Affects Children(08:19) Problems in Adulthood: Rushed Decisions & Mistakes(09:30) DISC Profile Connection(11:15) Mental Health Impact: Baseline Stress(12:37) Warning Signs(13:02) Example: HR Leadership: Breaking the "Rush Mode" Cycle(14:23) How Coaching Transformed My Hurry Up Pattern(14:47) Six Weeks in a Mindfulness Shed(15:35) Learning to Eat Mindfully(16:48) Philly the Pheasant: Slowing Down at Lunch(17:59) Speaking Career: From Horse Commentator to Impactful Presenter(18:44) The Transformation: Disconnecting "Slow = Bad"(19:33) The Opposite Truth About Speed & Intelligence(20:20) Strategies for Overcoming in Adulthood(21:13) Tools: Micro Pauses (22:07) 7-11 Breathing Technique forInstant Calm(22:28) Mindfulness: The 4-3-2 Sensory Exercise(25:20) Scheduling Buffer Times(25:46) Resources: Mindfulness Apps & Havening(26:11) Next Episode Preview: The Please Me Pattern(26:28) Outro & Call to Action ⭐Help Us Keep Growing & Going:If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe whereveryou listen or watch, leave a review or share it with someone who might benefit. Thank you ❤️. ⭐Listen or Watch on YouTube:🎧Listen on your favourite podcast platform here: https://estelleread.com/podcast/📺Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EstelleRead/podcasts ⭐Follow Estelle Read: https://linktr.ee/EstelleAtBeee ⭐Access Resources or Book a Free Discovery Call: ⁠https://estelleread.com/resources/⁠ ⭐Estelle Read’s Coaching Programmes:🌟⁠The Resilient Leader Programme: SHINE⁠🌟⁠The Optimised Leader Programme: NEXT LEVEL⁠ ⭐Buy Estelle Read’s Bestselling Book:⁠Inner Brilliance, Outer Shine: 10 Antidotes to Imposter Syndrome, Workaholism and Stress ⁠ ⭐Subscribe to Estelle Read’s Blog: ⁠Receive my free workbook: 10 Antidotes to Imposter Syndrome, Workaholism & Stress, when you sign up. ⁠ ⭐Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and shouldnot be considered professional advice. Please consult a qualified professional for specific advice.