Choose Your Pace
I had to be at the resort bus stop at 3:30 AM the morning of the Disney Marathon in 2013. As thousands of runners wandered around or stretched their legs near the start line, someone repeated over the loudspeaker several times, “Be sure to run at a conversational pace today, it is extremely hazy, hot and humid and it will continue to get hotter throughout the morning.”
My goal that day was to simply finish the race. I did not have a specific time that I was going for, I just wanted to run across the finish line. This was my first and probably last marathon. That day I ran the slowest I have ever run a race, but I finished and I finished strong, sprinting the last mile with a big smile on my face.
One of the keys to optimal health and happiness is to pick your own pace in life and run your own race. Depending on your unique personality and the season of life you are in, you may feel most content slowing down to a peaceful walk or you may be inspired to speed up and sprint. Wherever you are in life right now, consider if you are going at your own pace or consistently pushing yourself to run faster than is enjoyable and sustainable for you.
Are you trying to keep up with the person running in front of you or pushing yourself to go too fast to please and impress others?
Have you been pushing yourself too fast for too long and you feel the need to slow down, rest, recover, heal your mind, your body, your emotions or your relationships?
Are you adapting and moving at a pace that feels like you are in the flow and living a balanced and fulfilling life?
Are you in a season of life where you have more time and energy to do more, work more and serve more?
You know the pace that is right for your life right now. You can intentionally choose to slow down or pick up the pace to bring more peace, joy and balance into your life.
Whenever we cross our finish line of life, whatever age we may be, I hope we can look back and be grateful for the race we ran. We ran fast with enthusiasm toward our dreams and goals. We slowed down to spend time with the people we love and help them when they needed us. We rested when we needed to heal. We chose our pace, we ran our own race and were grateful for each step along our journey.
