Do not keep pace if it holds you back.

Welcome. 

Today's post, the first by the way, focuses on not keeping pace if it holds you back. Now, what exactly do I mean by that? There are two scenarios where this decision to either keep pace or overtake can occur: You either keep pace with people around you so you don't lose them even though you could easily overtake them, or you have already overtaken them and question if it was the right decision. "Overtaking" and "keeping pace" may sound fancy, but what do they really mean now?

To clarify this I will show you the two scenarios I just named in detail as they build on each other, you may find yourself in one of them. 

Scenario one: You have been improving your life lately, you may go to the gym or do sports in general you don't party anymore and focus on getting yourself together but your friends, who don't take this road, do not understand this behavior: "What is wrong with you?" they may ask. This is where the decision comes into place. You want to further improve yourself but at the same time you are scared to lose your friends, they may be the only ones you have and at that point your mind tells you that it may be better to slow your improvement down since none of those friends seem to understand and "keep pace" with you.

Scenario two: You decided to go your way nonetheless and are planting the seeds for personal growth in the future, at this point you have "overtaken" them: They drink without you now. You feel freed from finally overcoming your shadow and doing something for yourself, but that road can be lonely, and you haven't found friends who drive there as well yet, maybe you haven't really connected at your gym, dojo or football club yet. At this moment, the mind asks you to decide again: "keep pace or overtake?" You could after all just quit it and adjust your pace to that of your friends again, keeping pace with them, or you could hit the gas pedal and drive forward, even though you may see no rear lights ahead of you.

Now, you have probably read the subject of this blog post, haven't you? That is the only option you should take in this decision:

Do not keep pace if it holds you back.

Do not take this as an "I am the alpha-lone-wolf"-advice either. You will find friends on that road even though it may take a while and of course you should not cut off your friends just because they have a different lifestyle than you do, as long as they don't hold you back. But when you feel they do, or they don't support you on your way because they do not want you to overtake them, then hit the gas pedal.

-  until the next one, Damian.