Pace

Do you know yours ? More precisely, do you know what it needs to be ..

Pace is an idea that would crucially apply if we were all in a race. While there's an argument to be made to say of course we are constantly in a race with each other for life's needs and desires, that's a tad philosophical for a weekend, so I'll let it go for now.

Pace means how fast or how much we need to work to achieve our objectives. Straightforward, yes..? Actually no. You see each of us has a slightly different pace, and without imposing any judgment at all on that, the trick is to understand your own, and then be able to work with it. In the most simplistic example I can imagine, if two people are asked to walk a defined distance - say 1 mile, and they have different paces, then conceivably one will get there before the other - assuming that is that they start at the same time. But what if the individual that walked slower (that had the slower pace) was aware of their own pace, and began before the second individual. Conceivably this person would complete the distance before or even at the same moment as the 2nd individual. On the basis that we don't often find ourselves in walking contests, let's apply the concept to a more realistic situation.

Joe and Bob are both trying to achieve an "A" in a course they're taking. Joe and Bob are different people and handle the teaching thrown at them differently. Joe needs to re-read things to ensure he gets all the details correct in his head, while Bob is more of auditory learners and picks things up from being told them one time. When it comes time to study for a test, if Joe and Bob don't invest time to do thorough reviews (they do exactly the same thing) chances are Joe won't do as well as Bob. He needed to review the content to be able to apply the concepts. The trick if you're Joe is to see that in yourself and make the necessary investment to sure you're ensuring your own success.

A real-life example that always makes me smile is the person who we probably all know that is perennially late for everything. These people don't seem to understand their own pace, and so never leave enough time. I have heard of situations where they set their clocks 10 mins fast to try to equalize their behavior and time - but that doesn't work well either. The key is understanding oneself, and it's really that simple.

Pace is something that once you're aware of it, you can play with a little. In fact, I'd argue it's one of the keys to self-improvement. If I can benchmark myself in some quantifiable manner, then I know what I need to 'beat' to do better. I acknowledge here faster isn't always better, but an understanding of where you are is mildly important prior to determining how to get somewhere else (that's my most obvious comment of the day). Playing with your pace is something I do when running, and it can be applied to just about any work or play task.

Pace is also linked to the idea of cadence which I have to say I think about a fair bit....but that's part 2. For now, your homework is to look inside yourself and try to gain some perspective on your own pace, and then look around and decide for yourself if it's appropriate to your various situations or not. If not...what are you going to do about it, and how will you measure that change.