New Years Resolution? It's All About Pacing

I know I beat the "energy" topic to death sometimes, but tell me if this makes any sense...

I'm stronger than my body allows. When I'm feeling well -- heck, even when I'm not -- I'm fairly strong. I can lift, carry & do more than my body's recovery abilities allow. It's a really hard point to internalize.

I think about it like the red-line on the RPM meter in a car. You can push a car past the red-line. But, too much red-lining can cause an engine to over-heat and even break-down. Now, imagine an RPM meter that's 50% red-line on a car with a tendency to over-heat. That's me.

Christmas break reinforced the necessity of pacing. I didn't pace myself. By day 3 of our vacation I was running on empty and stayed there all week. Why? Well falling on the ice was part of it, but it's not the only reason. Too often at the beginning of the trip, I went the extra mile. I went shopping for one more gift. I packed the entire car. I drive the whole last leg instead of turning the wheel back over to Slick. At the time, I had the energy and forgot I might need to conserve it. Stupid! We were busy all week. I was forced to rest more and more during the week because I didn't build enough down-time at the beginning.

Apparently, slow and steady really does win the race...

The hardest thing for me is not doing something when I can. So, I'll do it at my same old fast "get 'er dun" pace. Then, wham, I hit the proverbial wall. And when I hit the wall, it can take days to recover the lost energy. It doesn't work.

I also do the opposite. I can get so hung up on conserving energy, that stuff doesn't get done until the last minute (and I rush to do it.) Twisted cycle!

So, I'm making my resolution to stick with it. Diet & exercise continue to go well (although Christmas hurt.) Stress management is also going fine. Routine lacks consistency. I think it's a matter of learning to do things differently.

What do you mean by doing things "differently?"

Here's an example: When I'm doing laundry, I've always piled everything up as high as it'll go and then stack the small basket on top. This is bad! I need to carry one load to the washer at a time. I need to do this even when I feel great and I know I can carry more. I simply can't waste energy and biting off more than I can chew. I burn myself out. This forces Slick to do more, not less.

New divisions of labor are also very important. On Sunday night, Slick packed the car & I packed lunches in the cooler. This enabled me to conserve energy to help with the long drive home. Even with my "modern man" attitude, it takes some effort to watch my wife do the heavy lifting while I make ham and cheese sandwiches.

I'm unlearning a life-time of behavior here. It's not easy, but I feel better and better at every step in the process. As Slick likes to say, "Whatever works." I've just got to acknowledge, move on!