The Pace of Life

In an era filled with increasing comparison, few have avoided the pressures of achievement and success from an increasingly younger age. All is well and good when you have achieved your personal goal, until your neighbour has already achieved the same and some more. It is at this moment where many people meet their biggest obstacle to reasonable decision-making and happiness. It is this feeling of comparison that drives many to increase the pace of their life, in an attempt to catch up or get further ahead than those they see around them. But remember, envy and comparison are the thieves of joy.

With the unprecedented sharing of people’s lives online, where fiction and reality increasingly continue to blur, the modern human experience is one with heightened comparisons and pressure to match the standards of those strangers we see online. The accomplishment of one goal, and the satisfaction one receives from it tends to be instantly trampled on by the witnessing of some other person’s supposedly superior accomplishment. It can and has driven many reasonable and rational individuals to the point of madness, with no way to escape a sense of inadequacy. The pace of life for many has shifted up a gear as we seek to achieve gradually more difficult and impressive tasks, in an attempt to keep up with those we see online and around us.

The truth is, slow and steady tends to win the race. In some instances, the victory occurs because those who come out the gates fastest underestimate the difficulty of endurance and burn out short of the finish line, and in other instances, even though they may have finished the race behind the fast starters and sprinters, the slow and steady have still crossed the same finish line with a more peaceful trip along the way. They have competed the same race and achieved all they need for self-fulfilment, while taking a scenic journey through life. You cannot put a price on peaceful sleeps at night. I believe that those who take a steady and measured approach will achieve what they need to live a fulfilling life while enjoying their journey, and while there will be some who achieve much more and run much further, to not finish first in a race of external standards is no shame. Having enough to feed and raise your family, enjoy the company of friends and enjoy your hobbies is more than enough for a well-lived life. I consider that a victory. In the long run, those with a strong durable foundation, rational life choices, and probability respecting decisions tend to emerge the most fruitful. Life is a marathon not a sprint and we are all travelling at different paces.

My advice? Take a deep breath. Focus on yourself. Find something you love and find meaningful in life, and chip away at it. Year by year. Week by week. Day by day. Hone your craft, take an appropriate amount of pride in your work and find joy in what you are doing.  Chances are, at the end of it all, all the strokes of your brush will have filled a vast blank canvas with vibrant colours and detailed images that will be breathtaking if viewed through the lens of lifetime achievement.