Set your own pace.

Go for a short hike, they said.

Sounded like a great idea at the time.
Note to self in the future: define what exactly do you mean by “short”?

Yesterday we joined some new friends in town to go on this fabulous hike. I have seen some pictures before. It really is a beautiful place.

“Yes, let’s go”.

Dude, it turned out to be a ‘proper’ hike.
Like in, we only got back to the house in the early afternoon.

I didn’t have much breakfast except for coffee. Didn’t plan for much of lunch either, just some peanuts and an apple. After all, it was just going to be a “short” hike.

Sounds a little like a business venture don’t you think?

Perhaps you stumble on a great idea. Or someone invites you to an opportunity of a lifetime. At the outset, it all looks really good. You have even seen enough evidence of it being done before so you are sure you will be able to make a success of it.

“Yes, let’s go”.

Back on the hike, as things usually work out, I find myself in front. Do you ever find yourself naturally ending up taking the lead, or just out in front?

If you’re an entrepreneur I can imagine that you do.

It’s not something that I am looking for. I do not have a game plan or a strategy for how to get to the front. Have you found that sooner or later you just seem to be wired to end up taking the lead?

Actually, I don’t enjoy being at the front.
Or rather, I don’t enjoy the attention that often comes with taking the lead.

Now I do like solving problems.
I am energized by the challenge of an adventure, discovering the path, creating a solution, and achieving an outcome.

Quite often that means I get to spend time alone … out in “front”.

When I look back I notice a group of people looking up at me. Thinking to myself for a moment “where did you all come from?”
Then I realize that it has happened again. I have slotted into taking the lead.

It doesn’t take long before the chatter begins.
Where to now? Why so fast? Why so slow? Why have you stopped?
Aren’t you going to take up the lead again?

If I can be honest with you, that’s the chatter I still don’t respond to very well, yet.

There’s another chatter that I was reminded of on yesterday’s hike.

Steady and consistent.
Popping up all along the way.

As if intent on deafening the beautiful sounds of nature. When the light-hearted conversation of the other hikers paused, this chatter picked up.

When the call of a bird-filled in a pause of the forest song, this chatter picked up where we had left off on an unresolved thought.

Relentless.
An all too familiar chatter.
My own inner voice.

Some call this your inner critic, some your little voice. I have sometimes referred to it as my shadow self.
I know it as my counter-intention.

When it comes to reaching my goals and materializing my hopes and dreams, this is the one conversation I have to master more than any other.
The internal chatter, the little voice within.

When I can hold a resourceful conversation with my shadow self, I learn to master my mind.

To do that I am learning to practice consciousness.

To be mindful of what I am busy with.

Like becoming aware of each step I take as we navigate our way up the mountain path.

Like appreciating the sound of the water dancing by in the stream below our path.

When I can master my mind I also learn to regulate my emotions. I feel like I can access a more resourceful state from which to process my thoughts. I find that the quality of my thinking improves.

I find that the imaginations of my mind create interpretations and assumptions about the world around me that are far more resourceful and effective.

I feel that the quality of my life is just better.
I feel like I can have more fun.
I feel like I can set my own pace on my walk through life.

I’m curious, how would your life be different if you could master your inner chatter and set your own pace?