I recently turned 51. Something I have noticed about aging is I do not recover as quickly and life can (should?) move a little slower. I have a morning routine that includes mobility training to keep my body working properly and I do yoga in the evening. Throughout the week I love to hike, mountain bike, trail run, snowshoe and more. It used to be that I could get out day after day and play with a good long sleep on the weekend… Not anymore.
We have two dogs, Finn who is a 5-year-old Cattle dog, Aussie mix. And Romeo, a boxer-beagle mix who turned 14 the day before my birthday. Romeo and I have had many adventures together. We adopted him when he was 9 months old and he has gone on walks, hiking, backpacking trips, running, biking, and swimming.
You name it, he was game. If we wanted to go, we just grabbed our gear and went out the door. Our rhythm was to go and go and go; always playing. Looking for opportunities to spend time together out and about.
Now that Romeo and I are a bit older, I am finding a new rhythm and I am honing it by watching Romeo. That’s right, I learned some new rhythms watching my old dog (Insert old dog; new trick joke here). Rhythms are good, they give a sense of flow and direction to life. They can be cornerstones to life. Lifegiving threads that help us be productive in life and relationships.
One of the rhythms I have discovered to be helpful by watching Romeo is to play hard in spurts. Pick the moments that are going to matter. When the moment is done… rest. Sometimes he will wrestle with Finn and when he is done, he just trots over and lays down in his bed or he comes to sit next to me.
Play time is done; let the body rest. I’m finding a sense of peace in this new rhythm. Sometimes I just sit with him after he plays. That’s enough. There are days I come home from a run, bike ride, or snowshoeing and I just sit with Romeo and reminisce about the adventures we’ve had together.
We are about to start a new year. 2022 is coming to a close and belongs to the past. 2023 is about to begin. Instead of a resolution; maybe you want to find and build a new rhythm with consistency. A new rhythm could be to give your more time with people you care about…
A new rhythm could provide you the next promotion and a raise at work…
A new rhythm might be to give you peace of mind knowing you accomplished what is important to you.
Whatever it is you decide, choose one rhythm, start small. Take action but be willing to adjust. Over time a new rhythm will emerge that can provide your life with purpose and deeper relationships and memories.
I cannot over-emphasize the idea to start small, don’t overdo it, steer clear of starting too big, too quickly. Over time you can build it out or add to it. I’m a big proponent of small changes done consistently. That’s why my company is called MicroShift: Micro Changes, small changes done consistently will produce the result you want.