Run Your Own Race

Run your own race..........what does that mean? This is a short but easy idea.

Do you look around and compare yourself to others? Neighbors, friends, coworkers, strangers? Do you wonder why you aren't as successful or rich? Do you wonder why others get picked over you at work? Do you wonder why your friends are getting married and having kids before you are?

We all have a purpose here but our purpose isn't like anyone else's. I can't compare myself to a friend because what she was meant to do is not what I'm meant to do. We all have different thoughts and ideas and concerns. And this is good. If everyone in the world cared about dogs but not cats then who would take care of the cats? If everyone wanted to be doctors then who would be teachers or lawyers? We all need to be different to make this world go around. Our hearts are all different and we can't all be fulfilled by the same thing. Some like to cook, some like to garden and others like to read.

I have a bit of a problem with "running my own race." I tend to want to be the best at what I'm doing even if it's not what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. Or I compare myself to others wondering why I'm not where they are or as "successful." But then I remember that what "those" people are doing isn't what fulfills me or makes me happy. My life isn't going to go the same way their life is going or as fast or as slow. It's not a race and we're not competing. This is a personal thing.

To summarize then, running your own race means:

• doing a job that makes you happy, not the one that you think you have to do to make someone else happy or to compete
• marrying when you find the perfect one for you, not b/c all your friends are getting married
• not buying a house in the city b/c that's the "in" thing to do but buying one in the country where you want to be
• choosing the hobbies/clubs you are interested in not the ones your friends are doing
• focusing on what fulfills you and completes you
• buying the car your family needs not the same car as you neighbor
• not keeping up w/the Joneses sums it up pretty well