I was 16 when an older man called George gave me that advice. I’ve never forgotten it. At the time, I thought we were supposed to dig the hole as quickly as possible. George knew better. He’d been doing the job for years, and he understood something I was yet to learn. The work will always be there. There will always be another demand, another responsibility, another thing that needs doing. But your energy isn't unlimited. I've carried George's words with me throughout my life, particularly during times when I've found myself heading towards burnout. Perhaps the answer isn't to find fewer holes to dig. It's to find a better pace for digging the ones that matter. Where in your life might you need to slow down and find a more sustainable rhythm? Thank you, George. Drop a 70 in the comments if you want details about my live conversations I will be doing around this topic of Ageing Well. #PaceYourself#AvoidBurnout#LifeLessons#PersonalGrowth#AgeingWell
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The first job I ever had age 16 was in the building trade
as a labourer. 15 pounds a week,
15 pounds a week. This is of course early 20th century.
On the first day on that job I was sent
to dig a hole with an old guy called George,
but he was old to me. George was about 70 and I was 16
and I was going to dig this hole with George.
The hole was about seven foot deep.
So we start digging.
About an hour in, George wanted a cigarette break.
So he sat down in the hole,
which by then was kind of about, you know, a foot deep.
And I carried on digging.
George said to me, sit down, put your shovel down.
So I did.
And George said to me, listen, he said,
this is your first day on this job.
You're 16.
He said, I've been doing this job all my life.
He said, let me tell you something.
When we dig this hole, they'll give us another one.
He said, they'll never run out of holes.
He said, but you will run out of strength.
So he said, you're going to slow down your digging and match my pace.
And I said, we're going to take most of the day to dig this hole.
He said, maybe into tomorrow too.
I remembered what George told me every single day
in the three years I worked there.
And regularly, George, when I would see him,
would say to me, don't forget, pace yourself, lad.
In the Yorkshire accent, pace yourself, lad.
What George said to me has been a gift to me all of my life.
Whenever I've been in the territory of burnout,
I've always reminded myself of what George said to me.
You're trying to dig the holes too fast.
Life will always give you more holes to dig,
whatever shape or form they come in.
Life isn't about finding less holes to dig.
It's about pacing yourselves in the ones that you are supposed to dig.
I am now going to be 70 next March.
And George's wisdom to me still
is as valuable to me today as it was then
and has been throughout my life since George taught me that.
Next, January, February, March,
I'm going to invite you to join me on three conversations
about how to age well.
It's called As I Get Older, I Realize.
And one of the things I want to talk to you about
is the realization we all have to have
about pace.
Finding rhythm and pace in your life is going
to keep you away from the territory of burnout
where so many of us live.
More details here.
Thank you, George.
Pace yourself today.
Cheers.
