A Case for Doing Nothing

Not everything requires a rush.

I can call myself a Lagosian. I’ve lived in the city for 18 years now. We are hustlers and always in a hurry. However recently, I can say since COVID, I have figured out how to be slow, deliberately and strategically.

There is a quiet power in stillness, in the simple act of staying put and refusing to act on impulse or fleeting emotion. Great strength lies in restraint, it is the discipline of slamming on the brakes to critically observe the moving parts swirling around you. Whether in business, romantic relationships, or the mundane rhythm of everyday life, there is immense leverage in pausing until you reach a point of deep conviction.

This message is the direct opposite of what we’ve been taught, how that fast is more important than being right. Against popular culture, I’ve come to realise that not everything requires a rush. Speed is not always an advantage, and the "first mover" is rarely the guaranteed winner.

There is a toxic valorisation of grinding through the storm. Like, ‘ride till the wheels fall off’. But why exhaust your resources fighting a gale when you could simply wait for the weather to break? Sometimes, the superior strategy is to slow to a complete halt until the coast is clear and the storm has passed. We don’t always have to ride the storm out. Often, we actually need to wait it out.

Survival isn't just about strength, it's about efficiency. Deep conviction requires clarity, and clarity is impossible in the middle of a blur. Waiting for the storm to pass is actually better logistics and not cowardice. It ensures that when you finally do move, every ounce of your energy goes toward progress rather than mere survival.

Google wasn’t the first search engine, Yahoo and Altavista were. Google waited, watched the flaws of early movers, and entered when they had a superior conviction. Apple rarely invented a category. They weren't the first with the MP3 player, the smartphone, or the tablet. Their power lies in strategic patience watching the market struggle with clunky versions, then entering with a refined, "perfected" move once the storm of early innovation has passed. Same as Facebook. It was preceded by Friendster and MySpace. Zuckerberg’s advantage was observing why those platforms failed to scale or maintain stickiness before making his move.

I’m currently building an AI company and we’re not in a rush. I’m looking and studying all that is being done right now and patiently refining our solutions based on what we observe as the weaknesses of those who have gone ahead.

Remaining still, devoid of emotional or physical reaction, tilts the power dynamic in your favour. By the time you finally move, you are more likely to win because you have already made the most important decision of all, the decision to think and to wait.

The most dangerous person in the room isn't the one talking the loudest or moving the fastest. It’s the one who can sit perfectly still while everyone else is unraveling. We’ve been sold a lie that speed is synonymous to success and that "first to market" is the only way to win. But there is a silent, predatory power in restraint, the kind that allows you to slam the brakes, let the noise settle, and watch the moving parts reveal their true shape.

When we act on raw emotions like anger in a relationship or panic in a market dip, we are essentially handing the remote control of our lives to our dopamine and cortisol. Whether it’s a collapsing deal, a heated argument, or the mundane chaos of a Thursday, the real leverage belongs to the person who refuses to be hurried.

Research from MIT Sloan shows that in high-stakes negotiations, a mere three-second pause can shift the entire power dynamic. This isn't just about being quiet, it’s about allowing the prefrontal cortex to override the 'amygdala hijack' of our impulses. Research from the American Psychological Association also suggests that even a 20-second delay allows the prefrontal cortex (the rational brain) to "log back in" and override the impulse.

Stillness is such a power move. In any negotiation, whether it's a multi-million dollar contract or an argument with a partner, the person who can sit in silence the longest usually wins. Staying still when someone expects a reaction is disarming. It shifts the "center of gravity" in a room toward you. When you refuse to be moved, others begin to move around you, eventually overextending themselves and giving you the upper hand.

In a world that fetishises hustle culture and is biased toward action, do not be pressured to move or make decisions until your convictions are solid.

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