I’m at an age where some people around me are raising children, fitting in what they can around work and life, while others are setting off on multi-stage tours and training like athletes.

When contemplating where I fit into this sliding scale, I noticed how our priorities vary over a lifetime. We all have things we want to achieve, places we want to go and things we want to do but we can't do them all at the same time. Something must take priority and this usually happens organically.

Our priorities vary depending on what is happening in our world and how we feel. Perhaps a change in priorities is a good indicator of living a balanced life since too much of anything for a sustained period is unhealthy.

Maybe, at present, work is full on or you're entangled in an exciting project. It’s likely that training isn't going to be at full tilt for this period, (at least not for the duration, anyway); but isn't that part of the joy of life - being able to choose what to apply yourself to?

When we prioritise rest and living, relationships, work and many other key pillars, training, events, and challenges can take a back seat. It is purposeful for our enjoyment, creating a low-pressure and high sense of fun or escapism.

In other seasons of our lives, perhaps when things are calm and mundane, training and entering events can take centre stage. Training requires focus, discipline, and achievement, so it makes sense to concentrate on it and devote as much time, energy, and resources as you can afford to it. So, why do we often try to do everything full throttle, all at once?

I’m guilty of going a gazillion miles an hour. I want to do everything, all together, all at once (now!) - to spin every plate simultaneously. I want to be fast, strong, run and cycle far, socialise, go solo, eat well, enjoy cake, travel, stay home, go out, get up at 5am, have one too many drinks... you can’t do it all at the same time.

Adventures, routes, races, and challenges will be available year after year. If you rush to complete them all at once, you'll miss out on enjoying the process and the outcome.

Leaning into the ebbs and flows of different aspects of life as they happen, means you are more likely to maintain continuity and balance throughout and, ultimately, do it for longer rather than burning out.

In some seasons one thing will shine brightest, and in another, something else will come to the forefront and become a priority.

In 2024, I committed the year to focusing on my work, my family and friends and not exercise. This included more rest, and no structure, which is controversial as a self-employed personal trainer and coach. It has added so much value to the quality of my working life and, if I'm honest, to my approach to training too.

I enter 2025 fresh, ready to purposefully focus on myself and my time. I’m not sure what I'll choose to do with it yet, but so far it's seen me solo biking and going up lots of hills.

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There’s still a long list of things I want to do, see, and achieve, but there’s value in spreading them out over months, and years and giving them my full focus each time.

Hopefully, you have a long life ahead of you, why do you have to do it all at the same time? Why do you have to ‘push through’ all year round, what’s the rush?

Slow down, take your time, and enjoy the process. Enjoy the seasons of your life.

Emma Goodwin-Jones is a qualified personal trainer, pilates teacher and cancer & exercise specialist based in Yorkshire and Cumbria. She specialises in helping people add value to life as it is now, keeping enjoyment and longevity as core. An advocate for being outside, she spends her free time in the mountains or by the sea running, swimming and cycling. emmagoodwinjones.co.uk

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