The Fastest Way Forward Is Not Always Faster

Over a decade ago, I was working towards my ACCA qualification.

Like many professional journeys, it required sacrifice.

Late nights.

Missed outings with friends.

Discipline.

Determination.

And more than a few failures along the way.

But the biggest challenge wasn't an exam.

It was a phone call.

I was sitting in my office in London when I received the news that my mum had passed away.

Complete shock.

In that moment, everything changed. I took a break from my exams.

Not because I had lost my ambition. Not because I had given up.

But because grief required something different from me.

It required me to pause.

To exhale.

To acknowledge.

To accept.

To realign.

Looking back, that pause wasn't a setback.

It was part of the journey.

One of the lessons I've learned is that our pace is often shaped by our wellbeing far more than our ambition. When our emotional health is struggling. When grief is present.

When stress is rising. When our energy is depleted.

The answer is not always to push harder.

Sometimes the answer is to pause.

Taking time to consider my wellbeing and state of mind did not keep me level with everyone I had started with. In some respects, I fell behind.

And if I'm honest, that unsettled me.

But that's often what comparison does.

It exaggerates our anxieties.

It magnifies our insecurities.

And it distracts us from a simple truth:

People are carrying burdens we cannot see.

There are battles others are fighting that we know nothing about.

Maybe you've faced a health challenge that changed your perspective.

Maybe you've lost someone you love.

Maybe a relationship has disappointed you.

Maybe you're navigating a difficult season with your children.

Maybe you're carrying a weight that others would consider small, but you know it matters deeply.

The reality is that life will continue to present us with moments that require us to reconsider our pace. How we respond to those moments has a significant impact on our wellbeing, our growth and, ultimately, our flourishing.

This experience became one of the foundations of the PACE Framework™.

The first principle is simple:

Pause and Pay Attention.

Before we accelerate.

Before we compare.

Before we judge ourselves against somebody else's timeline.

We must first understand what season we are in.

The fastest way forward is not always faster.

Sometimes the wisest thing we can do is pause long enough to understand what the moment is asking of us.

I'm sharing the PACE Framework™ not because I have arrived, but because I am still learning.

Learning to keep pace.

Learning to appreciate my unique pace.

Learning to honour it.

And I believe we all are.

What experience in your life right now is inviting you to slow down, breathe and re-evaluate your pace?