Pace

Discovering your pace in life is helpful. Trying to conform to the pace of your environment, if it is inconsistent with your own, is an exercise in needless frustration. By pace, I mean the natural speed with which you ingest and process information for use. Some people have a naturally fast pace. They bounce along easily with lots of stimuli and can react and function happily. Others need more time to process stimuli before reacting and functioning with it. Anyone who has taught a class understands this.

It is helpful to acknowledge both your capabilities and your limitations honestly. Struggling internally to be someone who you are not is a waste of time and energy. Accepting yourself realistically is a first step to compassion for yourself and others. There are many pressures in a media-driven society to do just the opposite. We are encouraged to be perpetual contestants in our own reality-TV show. There is no real prize for living like this in the real world. There is a vested corporate interest, represented in corporate-funded media, in making workers believe they can always do more for less.

Learning to get into sync with your own natural pace brings immediate relief from stress. Living from a position of doing what you are able to do at your own pace allows you time to examine your own life while functioning in the workplace and society. By acknowledging your own abilities and limits, you can see the skills in your life which can be expanded and improved from a proactive position of self-development.

Learning about who you are requires honesty and perseverance. Some people need professional help in this process. Others are able to work at this by themselves. For many, a major life trauma or loss triggers the pursuit of this self-understanding. A daily period of quiet reflection or meditation is often a first step to self-discovery and self-acceptance.