Pace Yourself…

Lately as I continue my busy schedule, I’ve been thinking about the concept of “pacing myself.” A couple of years ago I will admit that I wrote out a 5-year plan for my future on a scrap piece of paper. I was starting graduate school, beginning a new position at work, and feeling just as goal-oriented as ever. The plan outlined what I wanted to accomplish in the next five years from when I wrote down the thoughts. I wrote when I would be finishing graduate school, when I planned to buy my own home, and when I hoped to be married. Looking back at this plan now, very few of the things I wrote down have actually happened. I will graduate with my Master’s degree in May, but the rest of the items are up in the air.

Instead of feeling disappointed about where I am in my life versus where I may have hoped to be, I am choosing to be patient. Instead of feeling the need to be at a certain spot in my life, I am choosing to be patient and wait for the things that I know I will one day have. I am choosing to be patient and know that I will eventually have the things that I deserve. Patience is not an easy thing for me to practice when the rest of my life seems so fast-paced. With my current schedule I am busy from early morning to late at night. I often feel that since I am working so hard, all of the pieces in my life should be falling together (apart from just my professional life). During these times I try to remind myself that it is most important to be present and satsified with where I am in my life right now.

I think we all need to remember to pace ourselves from time to time. Stop worrying about the next big thing–the next promotion at work, the next relationship, the next big move. Pace yourself, and learn to be happy with what you have right now. All too often we focus more on what we don’t have as opposed to focusing on what we do have to be thankful for in our lives.

Tagged as: attitude, goals, pace yourself, well-being