A few years ago I ran a half-marathon. The race was a stretch goal for me because I started running barely 11 months prior.
My coach encouraged me to train for races. So shortly after I started running we started training for races, a 5k then 10k, and later a half marathon.
I remember returning to my family after the half-marathon race. My then 5-year-old son leaned over and asked me “Mom did you win?”
I laughed and responded that I did not win.
He then asked what my position was, I responded that I didn’t check… he was puzzled and I was amused.
What my son did not realize was that I did not join the race to compete with anyone, my goal was to exceed my last milestone. I was simply challenging myself.
Despite my rigorous training for the race, after crossing the 10-mile mark, it felt that there was no way I could complete the race. However, I kept pushing myself because my mind was set on reaching the finish line.
Even though I did not win the race as my son expected, I won my race. I set a goal and achieved it.
Thinking about that race I could not help drawing a parallel to our lives and the importance of running our race.
There were people on the race that had been running for 5 years, 10 years, or more.
We all joined the race for different reasons, with different experiences, and with different goals.
If I had gone by the number of people that ran past me during the race, I would not have finished the race. I had to keep my focus on my goals and run my race.
I realize this applies to life goals as well.
In our highly connected, social media-enabled world, people get caught up comparing themselves to peers.
Some get discouraged that the rough patch they are going through is impossible because going by their social media feed others definitely have it much easier.
Each of us has our unique journey, our goals. The time it takes to accomplish those goals will differ.
It takes a dog between 58 -68 days to give birth to its offspring, it takes the elephant 18–22 months to do the same. Can you imagine the number of offsprings the dog will have in the time it takes the elephant to have just one?
However, one offspring is not more valuable than the other, just different.
Each of us carries within us different dreams and aspirations…
While some will be accomplished in a short time, others may take a significantly longer time to accomplish.
The secret to staying in the game to succeed in our highly connected world is for each of us to focus on our own race.
Believing in your goals and your abilities to bring them to life is possible when you are not distracted by other people’s milestones.
Are you running your own race?
