On Wednesdays, I share posts, fables, songs, poems, quotations, TEDx Talks, cartoons, and books that have inspired and motivated me on my writing journey. I hope these posts will give writers, artists, and other creatives a mid-week boost.

Here’s a thought-provoking essay from Chellie Campbell’s book, The Wealthy Spirit.

The sprinter runs at top speed, with an all-out burst of energy, heart pounding and legs pumping to beat the wind to the finish line. Exhausted, lungs bursting at the end, the racer collapses and rests. He will sprint again. Later.

The long-distance runner cannot sprint—the course is too long. He must learn a different set of skills; he must know how to pace himself, to select those moments in which to push harder and faster, when to ease into the regular run for maintenance.

Life is not a sprint. It is a long-distance race.

Too many people are pushing themselves at top sprinting speed every day, every week, year after year. They don’t pace themselves. They don’t take a break to recover after a big push to meet a deadline—instead a new deadline takes its place and a new sprint begins. The project gets finished but another project stands urgently behind that one. And another. And another. The sales quota, when met, gets raised. Like a meal rushed to its conclusion, the achievement is gulped untasted. Burnout of mind and body arrives after too many sprints in a row.

When was your last vacation? When was your last three-day weekend? What day of the week is your “Do Nothing Day”?

Are you trying to sprint long distance?

Source: The Wealthy Spirit, p. 251.