Pacing Yourself in Life, a Marathon not a Race

Raise your hand if you like winning, if you like being first, and/or if you like being the best. Well, I’m assuming everyone’s hand was raised, which isn’t bad, but it also isn’t the best. Last week I discussed how it is vital to take care of one’s mind, for it is one’s mind that takes care of ourselves. Yet often, we find ourselves running and moving around a lot, stressing over the smallest details and events, even over the ones in which truly do not matter. We as humans often think that we can’t do what we actually can do, we doubt ourselves and our abilities, and therefore we worsen ourselves overall. Quick fact, the average human lifespan on a global scale is 72.6 years globally (roughly). Now, I'm certainly not a scientist or a mathematician, but 72.6 years is a long time. So if we live a long life such as 72.6 years, it certainly is a marathon, so why do we run it like a race? Well, because we’re trying to be first, and as I said, there is nothing wrong with trying to be first, but there is a line in which everyone should be aware of when it comes to life. It’s okay to be first if you are trying to be better than who you were yesterday, but the cost of coming first is sometimes sacrificing things such as morals and health. For some individuals are so obsessed with being first, they’ll sacrifice anything just for a place, rank, and/or medal. What’s the point? For if we live this life like a race, rather than a marathon, we’ll just speed on by some of life’s greatest blessings and opportunities, leaving us burned out overall. So how can we go through life like it is a marathon? First, take deep breaths, to calm one’s life, one first has to calm one’s self. Second, stay organized, if you aren’t organized, your life and actions are going to be one jumbled mess. To organize everything you do, make a daily, weekly, and monthly agenda. I highly advise not going past a monthly agenda, this way you can keep your focus on the smaller picture and not become overwhelmed with the greater picture, such as a yearly agenda. Some great ways to do this are creating checklists, using the Pomodoro method (which I explained in an earlier post), and creating goals to try to complete, even if they challenge you. But how does all of this relate to Norwich University? Well, 12-13 weeks ago, I was a Recruit, arriving at Norwich University, with nothing but fear and confusion filling my head. But now, 12-13 weeks later, I am a Norwich Cadet, with motivation and confidence in my step, and it felt like yesterday I was moving to Norwich University. If my point wasn’t made clear, time flies at Norwich as I have said in previous posts, and we can’t win in a race against time, but we can in a marathon. So pace yourself, take life one step at a time so you don’t trip. So some final words for this week’s post would have to be: “Life is a marathon, not a sprint, and in the end the race is only against yourself” (Anonymous), and of course have a great day!