Your Pace

In our society, there is definitely a big push to do bigger, better, be greater, faster, stronger, etc. There is a sense of urgency - we need to do it yesterday, and if not then, now now now.

However, this fear of losing something - an opportunity - is based out of a mentality of lack. We think we won't have another chance, or that perhaps that you'll never be as good as you are now.

While there is definitely times when you do need to go all-out, those times are probably less frequent than you might believe. As weighed-down as we are with commitments, duties, responsibilities, and a bunch of other stuff, it's good to really evaluate how much time you really have.

Sometimes it might seem like you're going back downhill when you're trying to desperately to climb uphill. Well, maybe that's for the best, as if you were going to fast previously, perhaps you need to take a break - don't burn yourself out too quickly.

When you are climbing a mountain (literally), if you ascend too quickly you can get altitude sickness. Monkey has experienced this firsthand, with extreme headaches, nausea and/or vomiting..it is not fun. Guess what the only cure for altitude sickness is? Going back down the mountain and lowering your elevation. You can stay where you are and painfully tough it out, but climbing only makes it worse.

Same goes for any challenges in your life. Go at YOUR Pace. Some people might have trained longer than you have. Some people might be riding yaks up the mountain. Whatever. Don't compare yourself to the rates that other people are going because you don't know their story, their backgrounds, their support teams, or their advantages. You can only go at Your Pace, and that's the fastest you can go. Go any faster, and you risk burning yourself out and hurting yourself in the long run.

Sure, Monkey + Seal preach sustainability over destroying a bit of yourself to reach the goal faster, but that's because we're in this for the long haul. There are numerous times where we could have taken shortcuts, or done things like other people, or worked ourselves sick. But every time we've even considered doing this, we realize that it's just not how we work. If we push ourselves too hard, we get sick or burnt out. If we do things unethically, we feel guilty and terrible and self-sabotage ourselves. If we copy others, we feel cheap and like we've lost our identity. All in all, you just have to be yourself and go at Your Pace.

The fastest way up the mountain - where you can enjoy the view at the top - is Your Pace. Embrace it.