Running your own race in life is really the only key to happiness.
I’m not a runner, but I know some pretty great ones. This idea of running my own race came during my workday, when a key performance metric was being met by my co-workers but not me, at least not yet. God spoke to me and put on my heart the idea of running my own race; meeting goals when it was my time, dreams becoming realities when I’m fully ready and yes, crushing performance goals in due time.
Comparison is quite literally the thief of joy. Now, what does that mean? Comparing yourself, whether it’s looks, performance, status, education, or literally anything else in this life will steal your joy. Benchmarking is okay, goal setting is okay (I’m literally obsessed with making 5, 10 and 15-year plans), but comparing where you are and where someone else is and envying what they have going on will rob you of the current happiness or conteness you could be feeling in that present moment.
What’s better? The current feeling of aspiration, happiness, contentment or peace. Or the current feeling of envy, anger or jealousy?
I’m not about to sit here and act like I haven’t fallen short or will never fall short of the latter feeling in the future. It’s just a question to ask yourself and check yourself with. I’ve been trying to pause when I feel the innate feeling of “why not me” or “okay, I’m overqualified, why isn’t this happening sooner?” hits, I challenge myself to pause, pray and then proceed.
I pause my initial thoughts.
I pray and ask God to guide me through, remind me of His promises (Jeremiah 29:11)
I proceed with my day, causing my mood and outlook to shift.
It’s not a perfect science, and I don’t always get it right but it’s helped me grow as a young professional. I have extremely ambitious goals for myself. Goals that I strongly believe God put on my heart for His purpose for my life. Sometimes the thought of greatness and success seems kind of far, but, I look back on all I’ve accomplished, all He’s allowed me to do and look to the future with nothing but this anxious excitement in the pit of my stomach of what else is in store for me.
You should too because your race isn’t over, it’s just beginning.
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