What’s the Pace of Your Life?

This spring, I hit a busy stretch.  In many respects, it was wonderful:  I got to travel to several places, work with many different people and groups, try out lots of different content, and bring in additional revenue.  

On the downside, by the end of it (or maybe before the end if I’m being totally honest) I was exhausted, overwhelmed, and scrambling.  I was struggling to keep up, and I felt like I was coming apart at the seams.  

I was living at a pace that was too fast.  

Two of my top needs are to feel centered and to have a sense of order or clarity about life.  When I feel rushed, I feel off-balance and out of control.  

Can you relate?

I’m betting that I’m not the only one who struggles with the pace of life sometimes, so I wanted to offer some perspective here to help you figure out the pace you’re currently keeping – and what you can do to get to the pace you wish you were living.  

Moving Too Fast

Too many of us find ourselves trying to do too much, and frequently rushing from thing to thing to thing.  Life becomes a bit of a blur.  

We might be going fast, but the problem is that we usually can’t go deep.  

When we don’t have time to slow, or pause, we miss out on the chance to go deeper in the processing of our lives.  We don’t really notice details about our thoughts, feelings, or experiences.  We don’t have the time to reflect on what these things mean in our lives.  

Is this you?

See if any of these statements resonate with your usual state of life:

• You get to do a lot, but you don’t often have the chance to explore your emotions to discern whether you are enjoying what you’re doing.  

• You’re taking lots of action, but you don’t pause to consider whether those actions are aligned with our values and deepest desires.  

• You are accomplishing many things, but you’re not sure that you’re becoming the best version of the person you were created to be.

• You’re running fast, but you’re afraid to pause to consider whether you’re running in the right direction.

This can happen to all of us from time to time, but if this becomes more of the norm, it can really start to take its toll on your physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.  

If unchecked, we can start to lose track of who we are, who we want to become, and how we want to live.  At its extreme, we might find ourselves one day struggling to recognize (and to even like) the person we’ve become.

How to slow down:  It can be hard, but slowing usually requires a serious re-evaluation of our calendar and activities in light of our deepest priorities.  It probably requires that say some “hard no’s” in order to say some “life-giving yes’s” to time for rest and renewal.  It means that we set times for regularly reviewing our lives to make sure that we’re going in the right direction at a pace that we can sustain

Moving Too Slow

Some of us struggle with the opposite problem.  We’re moving too slowly.  In fact, we’ve struggled so much to move that we’re actually stuck.

We’ve paused… but that pause has been going on a bit too long.  Maybe it’s gone on so long that we’ve moved from deeper reflection on our lives to a kind of paralysis-by-analysis that prevents us from taking any action.

Is this you?

Note which statements resonate with your current condition:

• There’s something you’re not enjoying about your life (e.g., your job, a significant relationship, your energy level, etc.), but you don’t know what to do about it, so you do nothing.  

• You sense a tension between your regular activities and your values, but you are afraid to make different choices.  

• You believe you were “made for more” but you’re not sure what that “more” is, so you delay forward action.

• You once had a pretty strong sense of self, but things have changed, and you’re not even sure who you are anymore.  

Uncertainty and fear are pretty normal in life, but when they grow a bit too large in our lives, they can act like glue, slowing us down and holding us back from moving forward in life.

If unchecked, we can start to lose our sense of self and sense of purpose and begin to doubt our own goodness and giftedness.  At its extreme, we might find ourselves merely existing, and not living our lives, much less living an abundant life.

How to move forward:  First, if we’re feeling lost or uncertain about ourselves, we’ll want to spend some time gaining clarity about our needs, values, and strengths.  Then, armed with deeper self-awareness, we can start to make choices and take action.  It’s usually a good idea to start small, knowing that small actions that result in success can build momentum toward larger movement.  If there’s something substantial that you’d like to achieve, break it down into tiny, actionable steps and start working on them, one at a time.

Finding the Right Pace Again

I’ve experienced times in life where each of these extreme paces has been true.  I mentioned above that as recently as a few months ago, I was in the throes of living too fast.  I’ve also had times when I’ve felt stuck and unsure how to move forward in life.  

You’ve heard of “right-sizing?”  Well, in those instances I’ve needed to “right-pace” and get back to a healthy speed of life, a speed that allows me to be both purposeful and productive.

For example, for the past month I’ve had a chance to slow down just a bit.  I’ve been able to catch my breath, reflect on what’s happened, and put myself back together again.  

I’m so grateful that I have the tools to do that.

The life management system that I teach to clients is also the one that I use for my own life.  And my favorite thing about it is that it’s a process that I can re-use over and over and over again in my life.  

Over the past month and a half, I put that process into action, and I’ve been able to put myself back together in a way that feels whole and centered.  I’ve slowed my pace to one that helps me stay centered while being productive.  I’m moving forward and getting things accomplished, but I’m not running faster than I can breathe.

I’ve also seen from my clients that these same tools can jump-start life when you feel stuck and help you take purposeful forward action.

I want to enjoy living – and not just exist in a whirlwind or a quagmire – and to do that, I need to live at the right pace.  

An Invitation

I want to help you live at the right pace, too.

I’ve offered some ideas for how to “right-pace” above.  But if you feel like you need some additional support, I can share the same tools and walk you through the same process that I’ve been using (along with lots of other amazing people just like you).

Next month, I’ll be officially opening the doors again for my signature program, Real Life Refresh.  It’s designed to help you live in pace (and in peace) with yourself.  So if you know now that you need some help getting to – and maintaining – the right pace in life, you don’t need to wait.  I’m opening a very special early-bird window for those who are ready to dive in, and I’d love to tell you about it.  

Let’s talk about it now.  The sooner we connect, the sooner you can start moving at the right pace for your life.

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