If you are looking to get from point A to point B, there are two ways of doing it.

One, you can open up a map, figure out what the best route is while taking into account the traffic, conditions of the road, assess different ways of getting there like taking a taxi, the metro or driving yourself, pick the best option and then set out to follow the path you have chosen.

Two, you can start driving as fast as you can and discover the route along the way by asking people for which turn to make next until you get to the destination.

For big portions of the time, especially in the beginning, the first option might make you feel like you're going very slow, or worse, like you aren't moving at all. This can make you feel like you are falling behind. Whereas, the second option gives you the illusion of moving fast towards the destination because you are constantly moving fast (only not directly towards the destination).

However, when you compute the speed by the classical definition of distance over time, that is, the time it takes you to go from point A to point B, the second option has a much higher likelihood of being faster.

We often confuse movement with speed. However, movement merely gives an illusion of speed.