Ever been told to run your own race? To stay in your own lane? Or perhaps that the grass isn’t always greener next door? They’re all helpful statements hitting at a broader truth—it’s best to be the best you that you can be, leading the life that only you can. After all, no two people or circumstances are the same. So, looking at others and trying to keep up with the Joneses (or, in today’s society, everyone’s social media highlights) is a recipe for failure.
But that doesn’t mean you’ll achieve the success you want merely by not peeking over the fence. To run your race well you have to know yourself well. It’s the only way to run your race strategically.
Learn your strengths and weaknesses, then gameplan accordingly
Not everyone is built for the 100m dash. Conversely, not everyone is built for the 10,000m race. People have natural different strengths and weaknesses that will lend themselves more to one event or another. And even within those races, each runner will run an individual race based on still more strengths and weaknesses. For instance, a sprinter may struggle to shoot out the blocks but be able to maintain their top speed longer than most, so they might try to reach that speed earlier in the race than others.
Either way, track athletes at the highest level don’t merely pick an event and run just any way. Regardless of their chosen event, they run their race—they run in a way that best aligns with their strengths and weaknesses. And by so maximizing their unique capabilities, they give themselves the best chance to win.
Life should be lived the same way. No matter what race you’re running—professionally, relationally, or otherwise—you should run your race within that race. Which means creating a gameplan based on your capabilities.
So don’t just run right away. Take a beat. Check in with yourself. Take time to learn more about who you are, exploring all your strengths and weaknesses. Then gameplan accordingly. Because if you’re going to run, you should run to win.
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