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Really, several of us have gotten so comfortable running other peoples race forgetting ours. We have to understand that aside the fact that everyone has different capacity and ability, we should not also forget that our destination are not the same, hence, there is no yardstick for which we should be concerned about the race of another.
It’s true we were brought up in such a way that right from our primary school days, when we fail in class, we are insulted for not doing so well as our classmate or our friend next door, forgetting that we have got our strong and weak points. At least in Nigeria, that’s how we grew. This act of comparison hence instills in us the attitude of trying to compete with others instead of leveraging our strength and thriving in it.
Every child is unique, and should be treated as such. A child not too good academically will have his/her strength in other areas such as Art works, track events and all. So to get him/her interested in the area they lack, try to find a way to blend what they love doing with the areas you are trying to improve in them.
Here we are, all grown up and are stuck in the attitude of competing and comparing ourselves with others and making the same mistakes of the past. Hey! Snap out of it and run your own race. Leverage on your strength, thrive in it. I heard a message a while ago, guess the caption? “Shine your Shine, I Shine my Shine”. Do you get that? Simply put; Shine in Your Place, and I will Shine in my Place also. I have come to realize that as everyone thrive in their own place of strength, whenever they come together, they make a good team and end up being more efficient and productive together.
I heard a story sometime ago about a Boy and his Dad on a journey in their small car. Suddenly, a car sped past them. The Boy queried his Dad why they could not go as fast as the car that just passed, and Dad answered and said; “we may be heading the same direction but we are not going to the same destination and hence no point being in such a high speed or competing with him on who can go faster”. As they drove ahead they saw the same car, parked by the road side, the engine is overheated. The Dad told the boy that; “as that car is, the driver will have to be patient to let the car cool off before proceeding, else he will stay longer”.
You have to understand that no matter where you are in your journey, there are people ahead of you, you are ahead of some people, and some will speed past you, while some will not make it to their destination.
So, Just Run Your Race at Your Pace and thrive in Your Place and that’s what I call Success.