Pace Over Pressure · Foundations of Ascension

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Pace Over Pressure

Have you ever looked at a big project, felt the pressure to finish it all at once and then frozen?

That’s exactly where I found myself with decorating my house. My instinct was, “Right, my son’s away this weekend, I’ll just smash through it and get the whole room done.” But the truth is, that kind of pressure always backfires. I end up overwhelmed, stressed, and not doing anything at all.

So I'm trying something different, just painting the walls white.

Not the colours I really want, not the full “finished” room. Just a base coat.

And weirdly, that felt like such a relief. It’s progress. It’s lighter. It’s good enough for now.

It made me realise how often we do the same thing in life and in nervous system regulation. We push for “finished.” We think healing should be done on a deadline, or that growth should happen by a certain time. And when it doesn’t, we spiral into frustration or collapse.

But there is no deadline for healing. No one is waiting for us to hand in proof of regulation. The pressure is almost always self-imposed.

When we let go of the artificial deadlines and focus on phased progress, one coat at a time, one breath at a time, we stay steady. We keep moving without burning out.

So now I’m asking myself:

Where am I piling on pressure that I don’t actually need?

And what would my “base coat” look like in this area of life?

Because growth, just like decorating, happens in layers. It’s not forced. It’s paced.

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