I sit in my favorite morning watering hole (coffee shop to you). It is busy this bright Saturday morning, as usual. I watch the flow while listening to a little John Coltrane. I like Coltrane’s typical calm, deliberate style especially while watching the frenzy around me.

The “mobile order” has amped up the coffee frenzy. I feel like a boat captain who has just chummed the waters and then fallen overboard.

We continue to find ways to make our fast paced world even more fast paced.

No one slows down and listens to a little Coltrane any more.

I just changed jobs and am drinking from the fire hose like you do with any new gig. I have done what I do a long time, so I know this is just me getting used to things. Not to say that this new job will not be fast paced…it will, I can already see that. All the more reason for a bit of Coltrane and some coffee on this particular Saturday morning.

We can become a slave to the pace of our worlds without some moderation. It is not always possible, timelines being what they are. However, understanding how to pace ourselves is an absolute must. I have been chewed up and spit out by my pace more times than I can count. I want to believe that now, being a bit older and a bit wiser, I can regulate my pace to some extent.

I came to realize some time back that while many outside factors may influence our pace, it is only we who can modulate that pace. And if we do not, we can be consumed by it.

The world will take all you are willing to give. Be that in our jobs, our families or with our friends. Not that any of that is necessarily a bad thing, it is just a fact. Much like a fire that will consume as much wood as you put on it, that is the nature of fire.

When we begin to understand the nature of a thing, we can begin to manage that nature.

Not making the effort to understand is where, I believe, we lose the ability to manage that natural course. Much like in my world of technology, left unchecked, capacity is quickly consumed. Again, this is just the nature of such things. There must be conscious choices made to mitigate and manage consumption.

The same is true of our lives. There must be conscious choice to mitigate and manage that which vies to consume our time, talents and treasures.

Sometimes just taking an brief mental break to review and assess is all that is needed. Sometimes it takes a bit more and we need to truly step back and assess our situation, adjust and move forward.

The adjust and move forward can be an issue for some. It is easy to allow ourselves to become mired in analysis. This is called analysis paralysis. Pace requires motion. While we may crave a break from the pace, we cannot become stagnant. Doing so means that you either get stuck in the moment or swept along without any ability to manage your pace or situation.

A runner will adopt a pace that allows them to not only stay in the lead but to finish the race. When our pace is too fast too early we tire quickly and cannot finish. When it is too slow we cannot catch up when the finish line nears and we end up losing the race.

Pace is such an important factor in all aspects of our lives.

As I sit here this morning, slowing my pace to take a moment to assess my week I am able to breathe and begin to manage my pace. Something the first week at a new job did not allow me much. However, I know that this too will pass and I will find a rhythm that fits where I now am.

Learning the pace and rhythm of the different seasons of our lives so that we might manage all that is constantly thrown at us is where we learn to live life. Otherwise we find life living us and being consumed by factors we feel are outside of our control.

I can assure you they are not. It is how we perceive and approach these times that dictate how we live them. How we pace ourselves so that we finish the race strong.