June 21, 2026- True Genius

Genius hesitates.

~Carlo Rovelli

When it comes to true genius, there are no bonus points for speed. The right answer may take a minute. Life is not a game show, requiring us to buzz in before the other contestants to get a shot at the money. True genius hesitates.

Hesitating does not mean we need to freeze, paralyzed by fear or self-doubt. Our hesitation is an opportunity to widen the space between stimulus and response, to create room for the best of us to show up.

We live in a world of immediate gratification. We start to feel like anytime we spend waiting is time wasted, moments we will never get back. What if we make proper use of that time? What if we use it to let our thoughts become more fully formed? What if we use it to carefully consider what someone else has said? True genius hesitates.

We do not need to wait just to add gravity or importance to our next word or deed. This is not some effort to create a pretense that didn’t need to be there, to let everyone’s sense of anticipation heighten before we do or say something brilliant. This is an opportunity to slow things down, to prioritize right over right now, to let the best of us show up.

What’s the rush? Why are we in such a hurry? Let’s be willing to hesitate to give time for our own genius to show up.