Pace Yourself, Change Of Pace Or Not?

Have you felt a shift this year in the pace at which you are running?

Pace – both mental and physical – seems to me to be related to so many different factors. I feel with age my mental pace has accelerated and at times I know my physical speed has slowed. It can also be the reverse, depending on my external circumstances. Our pace, the speed at which we run our lives, is important to maintain and be in our control. Covid and extended periods of lockdown have probably altered our ability to “pace” in the way we are accustomed to.

The shift of pace I am interested in is the one we choose to change ourselves.

A crisis of major significance, like the one our world is facing, is oftentimes a cause to reflect and a catalyst for change. I have most definitely made changes.

Suddenly I don’t want to do “life” in the same way. My interests have changed and my ideas shifted. What once gave me enormous pleasure may have been superseded by something else. I am not talking about “slowing down” for that will never be my choice but I’m feeling a shift; a shift in mindset, which is giving me cause to reflect on the pace we run at things.

Let’s backtrack.

Consideration: I was less considered and more inclined to be involved in everything to pass my way. Not in a hugely excessive sense but if I am critical I would say much of my activity could have been better thought out.

Expectation weighed more heavily on me. What I felt compelled to do as opposed to what I wanted to do was the order of things.

Priorities were not as preferential as they should have been.

Output, the quantity of what I could achieve was top dog over the actual quality.

Interests change. There is a natural evolution with interests and obviously, they develop as we move through life. I believe a change in pace can precipitate a whole new range of interests.

How To Change Pace?

While events this year may have been the catalyst to change the way I run at life, acceptance is why I can successfully and happily do this. No recriminations, no judgements simply an acceptance of choices and where they lead me. A change of pace can be the most exciting adventure of all and it most certainly does not mean any slowing down.

Shifts in our mindset do come with age and it is easier with greater self-awareness and self-confidence to be and behave in exactly the ways we choose. Ask your younger self about her pace? I’m sure many of my points above resonate. This year might well accelerate these feelings for many and fast-track us in directions we never even dreamt of.

A rollercoaster ride? For sure. Exhilarating? No doubt. xv