What If This Moment Is Asking for a Different Pace?
When Time Feels Manageable
I begin the morning relaxed. I have ample margin built into my schedule—a gift of breathing room to myself. No rushing. No tight deadlines. I’ll arrive at the airport early, sharing an Uber with my friend whose flight leaves a full two hours before mine.
Everything feels calm. Manageable. Under control.
My flight back home is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. I’ll land in Dallas at 6:20, with a comfortable one hour and twenty minutes layover before my final flight home. Plenty of time.
Until the dings begin.
The Dings That Change Things
Ding.
A text from American Airlines. My flight to Dallas is delayed by 15 minutes.
I don’t mind. I’ll still have an hour to get to the next gate once I arrive in Dallas. No biggie.
Ding.
New departure time: 4:00 p.m. Arrival in Dallas: 7:05.
My stomach tightens a little. Now I’ll have to run when I get there. I begin shifting to a hurry mindset.
Ding.
Departure pushed to 5:05 p.m. This won’t work at all . . . except my connecting flight is also delayed. It’ll still be close. Still tense. Still possible—but barely.
Ding.
Really? Now I’ll leave at 5:30 p.m.
I talk to customer service at the airport. They tell me to keep my flight to Dallas and hope for the best. Hope feels wobbly, but it’s all I have.
When Hope Runs Out
Ding.
5:57 p.m.
Ding.
6:24 p.m.
Ding.
The seventh delay seems like a final verdict: 7:07 p.m.
I’m done.
This time, I know I’ll miss my connecting flight.
And then—something unexpected happens.
An Experiment with Pace
My February theme I’ve chosen for my One Word Shift is Pace.
Specifically, I want to honor the pace this moment requires. I pull forward the tangible representation from my One Word jar: my deceased aunt’s old watch—a reminder that time is more relative than we realize.
Sometimes altering my pace means I slow down. Intentionally. I’m trying to stop rushing when when rushing isn’t necessary.
Other times, it means I speed up—not letting something linger longer than it needs to.
Like writing this blog post.
I decided to see how quickly I could put it together.
As it turns out: not as fast as I wanted. But also, not as long as it could have taken.
The Moment Everything Softens
Back at the airport, once I know that I won’t make it home tonight, my jitters disappear.
When rushing was no longer an option, something in me finally softened.
The delay is so large that I’m back to having plenty of time again.
The mental math stops. The frantic inner voice quiets down. I’m no longer in rush mode, because there is no rushing something out of my control.
And somehow . . . that’s freeing.
Waiting Is Okay
I finally arrive in Dallas at 10:30 p.m.
I shift back into slow mode.
Waiting for customer service.
Waiting for the shuttle.
Waiting in line at the hotel that night (compliments of American Airlines).
By midnight, I’m in a bed. And by morning, I’m on a new flight home at a leisurely 10:30 a.m.
The Real Shift
Experimenting with pace has been interesting. I’m learning that while physical shifts matter, for me the mental shifts matter more.
Timing isn’t always within our control. But knowing when to slow down and when to speed up is helping me better live in the moment I’m actually in—not the one I’m racing toward or the one I’m trying to resist.
Timing isn’t always within our control—but our pace still is.
As it turns out, staying present here is the sweetest time of all.
When have you had to speed up lately? Slow down? I’d love to hear in the comments.
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Lisa, this post resonated with me. Having experienced travel disruption in the past few days (I wrote about it on my blog), I totally identify. Appreciate your thoughts on pace.
I’m glad you survived your travel trauma, too, Linda. I read your post and admit I had “a titch of crankiness along the way” myself too. 🙂
I absolutely hate being rushed, Lisa. I got a bit of the “wobbles” as I read your post here. However, you are absolutely correct. We can’t control how schedules change, but we can become aware of our pace in how we handle these. Glad you made it home safely! Blessings!
Feeling rushed is an awful feeling for me too, Martha. And I do it too myself too often when it’s not even necessary. Focusing on it this month has been helpful.
What a great post, Lisa and even though your focus for the month of February is “pace”, I still see your One Word for 2026 “shift” all throughout your post. I love it! Personally, I am having trouble writing a post about my One Word, self-control. I’m not certain where the block is or why there is one.
To answer your question…I’ve been given a forced slowing down period since the first of the year. I started to fight it, but decided to just enjoy what I was given and, you are right…it’s the mental shift that gets me more so than the physical.
I’m glad you saw that Shift is still present in my update, Dianna. It’s taking Self-control for me to consciously shift my pace this month; I love when our words collide. 🙂
I have trouble with mental shifting, too, when life doesn’t go according to carefully prayed-over and laid-out plans. I need to relax and trust that God will guide and provide in whatever way is needed.
Yes, it’s when I expect things to go one way and then they go another that I feel harried. I do best when I don’t have expectations for an outcome at all, but that’s not always possible when we have to make plans. 🙂
As someone who had a long commute for over 30 years, I can feel this. Sitting on the local train wondering if I would make it could be nerve-wracking, especially with an appointment waiting at home. Knowing I had no chance to catch the connecting train helped me make my peace with it because no shoving, running or miracle could have made me catch it.
Oh, that would have been anxiety-producing for me to have a long commute on a train so kudos to you for figuring out how to manage the stress for that many years!
wow what a great example of shifting and pacing and a great lesson for all of us. I have heard it said and try to practice: our first impulse is a reaction and something deep in our brain we don’t have much control over BUT our next is a response – something we do control and can choose. What we need to do is use the space in-between.
I wish I had someone tapping me on the shoulder to remind me to take that pause when I need it most. 🙂 I remember a class I was in where we were told to NOT give our first answer to a question going around the room, but to give our second answer. It was quite eye-opening to have to consciously think about it. But it’s hard to do in everyday life. ha.
Oh, Lisa, your words today have helped with my travel anxiety.
We are heading to CA on Tuesday and have not one but two layovers.
Two layovers can be nerve-wracking, but I hope all goes well for you, Barb! Sometimes things actually work out exactly as planned. 🙂
Our travels to and from CA were full of “adventure,” but the time with our loved ones is priceless! ❤️
Wonderful post, Lisa. A much-needed read. This part, in particular, resonated with me: “But knowing when to slow down and when to speed up is helping me better live in the moment I’m actually in—not the one I’m racing toward or the one I’m trying to resist.” Such a great reminder.
It’s amazing, we have to go with the flow and not stress about it. We do get so worked up about what we are unable to control. I know its hard and difficult especially if you have deadlines ahead, but when we stop to try and control. things do fall in place.
Thank you so much for linking and sharing with us at SSPS 398. See you again at 399, do not miss out on a surprise
Those dings were making my stomach muscles tighten, Lisa, and I’m not even sitting at the airport! I keep being amazed at how our words intersect. And I know for sure that if I’m going to stay PRESENT, I always need to make the SHIFT from panic to peace. Ironically, I just wrote my March PRESENT post, and it’s about staying in the present moment…