The Right Pace

Several people have commented on my postings on FB that they are amazed by all that I get done.  What they don't necessarily realize is that I am amazed by all that I do not get done.  Yes, I do a lot, but there is always more and a lot is often undone.  For example, last night I ran into a fellow faculty member from the same school of public health at the music shop where my oldest takes piano lessons, and we were discussing how becoming more senior at our university usually just leads to being busy and not to having more control over one's schedule and expectations.  The other faculty member commented on feeling more and more behind.

So, all the things I've written about since January 1 can help me to feel a better sense of overall well-being, but have not necessarily fixed any of the things on which I am behind.

In the meantime, I've started making more circumspect comments on people's responses to my posts or on people's own posts about how we all have to take things at our own pace.

Right now, my pace is pretty high.  I sometimes wish I could slow down and just sit and watch TV for an entire afternoon or do nothing for a while.  When all is said and done, I am never sure that I'd feel any better if I did nothing.  I'd probably feel an emptiness in that case.

Perhaps there is something in between that is the right pace and the right amount of stuff to do.  I hope to find for myself something that feels closer to the right pace and a pace that maximizes my long-term well-being rather than just a pace that I accept and that helps to keep me away from a minimum long-term well-being.  Just avoiding the worst does not mean that I have the best--or even close to it.  Perhaps looking for control over my own pace in the current world and with current obligations that I cannot just undo is not something that realistically will ever happen.  However, part of any plan for long-term well-being should include a focus on finding the right pace.