I am a collector of quotations. I don’t know when it started, but it definitely was solidified with my speech and debate experience in impromptu speaking. So, I thought I would do a weekly quotation that struck my fancy, look at who said it and what it means to me. I would love to hear other’s favorite quotations and/or reactions to mine in the comments!
So, the first quotation is:
“Strive to be the lowest heart rate in the room,”
Who said it? The first person to say this is lost in history. I came across it in the May 13 Substack from Camille Styles, “Breathing Space” but she didn’t know the source. I looked it up on Google and there were a few sources, but the most compelling and recent seemed to be someone who is new to me, Jen Shoop at Magpie. According to her About page, Jen has had a “varied career in non-profit management, technology and product design.” She is married and has two young children and lives in Maryland. In more exciting news, she just published a book that looks like a lovely piece of literary and visual self-care, “Small Wonders: A Field Guide to Life’s Quiet Joys”. I immediately ordered it because it looks so pretty and comforting!
There was another credit to a venture capitalist in the Silicon Valley, but I like to think he may have taken it from Jen Shoop. In her book, the phrase appears in a section titled, “You are not a NASA project.” She ends the section by saying,
So, strive to be the lowest heart rate in the room. Run a few minutes late; let the kids play outside in the diminishing summer light while you finish putting away dishes. Let the day fall slack around you. Today is a slow-rise bonus; don’t rush it.
What it means to me. I think I strive to be a problem-solver, not a wallower. I want to be the calm in the storm of life for my daughter, my students and others. I grew up in a very anxious and volatile household. My mom was full of anxiety about everything. My dad drank too much and was unpredictable. It was stressful. I think part of my need to be calm and optimistic and predictably “even-tempered” is to counteract that for my own daughter. I want her to feel less stress. Her early life was full of stress that was completely not in her or our control. Part of that is being outwardly calm for sure. Controlling my voice. Controlling my emotions. But, some of it is controlling my heart rate – controlling my physical reactions to things. Of course those two things are connected – mental and physical reactions – and I try to be in control of both of those as much as possible. So, this quotation reminds me that this is something for which to strive. If I can be a calm counterbalance to someone else’s stress or volatility, I can help others find balance in their lives.
What do YOU say? I would love to hear your reaction to this quotation or another quotation that this reminded you of. In competitive impromptu, we did something called “bridging” with quotations, where we would say what the quotation meant to us, the whether we agreed or disagreed, then give some main point examples that demonstrated our agreeing/disagreeing. I would love to hear if you agree, disagree or have a mixed reaction to the quotation in the comments!
PS Jen has some great clothing and household suggestions on her blog! So, if you are looking for stylish clothing or household items, be sure to check it out.
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