I often get accused of walking too fast.
When I was a high school teacher, my students would shuffle in hurried pitter patter behind me as we trooped to the media center for yet another valuable lesson on history or economics.
When the kids and I are at Target, it’s a lot of “Dad – why are you walking so fast!?”
I got places to go. Need to get there.
But…
When it comes to the long haul, it’s important to set a pace. A pace that works, and a pace that will get you to your goal or finish line, or whatever it is you seek. A marathon runner doesn’t sprint. A mountain climber takes it step by step. Those are paces, too…
I once had to rescue (sort of) my father-in-law down from Mount Whitney after a sudden bout of altitude sickness.
We hadn’t spent enough time acclimatizing to the heights, and he reacted very differently than me to the thin air of the lower 48’s highest mountain.
The summit was a day’s hike upwards, but he needed to get down, and quickly so.
“Here’s what we’re gonna do,” I said, in a firm, but polite tone. Guy (the father of the love of my life), was attempting to pack his sleeping bag, and failing badly.
We had just spent the night at about 10,500 feet. “We’re gonna head down, ok, a few hundred meters at a time.”
Our pace was slow, but deliberate. We hiked for a few minutes, took a break, drank some water, and kept going. The sun was shining, birds chirping, and Guy held on to a piece of cord to match my steps down the trail.
Pace is always about the appropriate pace. When you lead others, you have to make sure they can follow, too. Too fast, and you lose too many. Too slow, and you get nowhere. The right pace, at the right time.
How’s your pace?
Are you getting stuff done? Are you content? Or are you burning out?