What Pace Are You Keeping?
I watched a duck cross the lake this week, and it rearranged something in me.
From the surface, it looked effortless. Gliding. Serene. No visible strain at all.
Underneath the water, those webbed feet were flipping vigorously — pushing water backward, over and over, so the body could move forward.
And here is what struck me: the ducks moving faster were not gifted with better water. They were simply flipping faster. The ones moving slowly were flipping slower. The surface only ever showed the result. Never the effort.
This is exactly what happens with the people we admire.
We see the polished keynote and not the seven years of rooms with twelve people in them. We see the calm executive and not the nervous system work she did quietly, at 5 am, for eighteen months.
And then we compare their decade to our first ten days — and call ourselves behind.
Notice how unfair that math is. You are not slow. You are simply earlier in the water.
There was one more thing on that lake.
While the ducks were moving, a goose sat perfectly still. Just chilling.
And I caught myself asking — is this rest, or is this avoidance? Is it rejuvenating, or is it refusing?
Here is what I have come to believe: the goose looks identical either way from the shore. The difference is never visible on the surface. It is internal. Rest that is chosen restores you. Stillness that is chosen because moving feels frightening slowly erodes you. Same posture. Opposite outcome.
So the honest question is not “should I be moving faster?”
The honest question is: am I still, because I chose to be — or because I am hiding?
Only you can feel the difference. Take a breath and check in with yourself before you answer.
Your pace is yours. As long as your intention is aligned, as long as you are serving with integrity, as long as you are helping the people around you embody who they truly are — the speed is not the point.
The direction is.
What did you see — the duck or the goose? Tell me below.
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