Happiness

On Pace

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about pace and how it’s an incredibly important concept to master.

We all have the power to set our own pace, but we often let outside influences persuade us to change it. I, for example, tend to walk more quickly in New York than I do in Philadelphia. This isn’t because I choose to do this, it’s because I can’t help but keep pace with the rest of the city. I think this is dangerous.

We often take on more work than we can handle, or rush ourselves through our tasks, sacrificing quality for speed. I feel like once we let outside pressures speed us up or slow us down, that’s when we start down the slippery slope to undue stress, anxiety, and general discontent with our station in life.

It’s important to keep your own pace. Of course, pushing your limits is healthy, but it’s also important to be the master of your cadence. Pay attention to your natural speed with all things and turn that balance into efficiency, creativity, and results.

Pace plays an important role in everything that we do and it’s also important to be aware of the pace of others. In sales, for example, the best way to relate to a customer is to pace the conversation. Listen to their words, the speed of them, their intonations, and match it. The closer that you can get to someone else’s pace, the better they will be able to relate to you. Really, this is just good practice for conversation. If you approach people on their level first, it sets the stage for great communal thinking.

I have to remind myself constantly to balance my pace. I often try to take on more than I should, and it can be a struggle to slow myself down. Paying attention to my natural cadence is the best thing that I can do. I know that. I’m going to do my best to remember it. I’m going to practice it until I no longer have to think about it, and keeping pace simply becomes a way that I interact with the world.

My Life After the Rabbinate

career-move-8Today marks the end of an era. It is my last day working for a small, Jewish non-profit.  This is a lifestyle change as much as a career move, and as comfortable as I am with change, I’m still completely terrified.

For the last year I’ve been working part-time as the Sales and Marketing Director for the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) and I am proud of the work that I’ve done. The CCAR is forward thinking, open, and truly inspirational as a 125 year-old start-up. They nurtured my creativity while trusting me to grow the organization from a technological standpoint. They held me up in many ways and allowed me to never stop learning. For that, I am eternally grateful.

The staff there is an incredible bunch. The leadership is visionary. The support staff is as solid as a rock. When everyone is working for a cause, you end up with a special breed. You need a special breed for a special organization.

For the last 8 years I’ve been a non-profit dude. Inside and out, I’ve supported causes through my work and have reached a true level of comfort with the non-profit pace. I’ve grown my career from my heart and not for my wallet, and it has paid me back in dividends both large and small. In so many ways, I’ve made all of the right decisions in the work that I do. Leaving this position on such good terms is a total gift, and I would be lying if I didn’t say that I am completely humbled by the experience.

I’ll have an announcement shortly about where I’m headed. It’s a big adventure and I’m preparing myself for a wild ride. I will officially be leaving the non-profit realm, but only in physicality. My new opportunity is community based and as dear to my heart as all of the other work that I’ve done.

Change is a good thing. If we stop moving and don’t follow our dreams, we’re doing something wrong. Life needs to be full of things that fill us, and I’m proud to say that I’m fat and happy.