RACE AT YOUR PACE

Ever feel like you’re always backward? Like way way behind with your schedules, slow in graspin' all you need to learn, late with all the trendin' news? I find myself in these categories most times.

I’m usually already awake fifteen to twenty minutes before my alarm rings. And as much as every inch of me would love to fall back asleep, I just don’t. So I’d often reach for my phone and hold it till the briskness of the alarm tone pops my eyes open and wills my feet to the floor. Then I’d grope through the darkness, to turn on the light. So my day starts with the hope that I can be on time with and on top of the things I should get done, but it rarely feels like I’m gettin' there at all.

I happen to be pursuin' a higher degree in a field different from what I studied as an undergraduate and there are moments durin' my classes when I feel slow, uncoordinated and insecure (you know, like a fish out of water – not comprehendin' what the man at the board is sayin'). There have also been several times at my choir rehearsals when I’m the last one to score a song or get the notes right. Sometimes I feel frustrated, weak and clumsy bein' at the last place, but I’m not about to give up. Not especially after months of pushing through the darkness at dark O’ clock hours in my best effort to study or pluggin' in those earpieces at wee hours of the morn’ and strainin' so hard, listenin' for my parts in a song.

This has taught me a lesson, not just for schoolin' or for singing, but for life. Every day, I have a choice to simply run the race I’m on, or lament the fact that I’m unable to run at a pace like everyone else and just give up. I won’t be doing myself any favour if I keep comparin' my path and pace with those of others. I only have to keep doin' it and givin' it my all; even on days when I don’t think I can take another step or finish at the same time as others.

We all have our paths. It may seem like our  paths are the same, but each person’s race is unique with a route set out specifically for them.

You are not called to run the race of your sister, your friend, your colleague or your neighbour. You are called to run your own race in your own lane at your own pace, even if you’re getting passed by those on other lanes around you, even if it feels like you’re two metres or five years behind. It doesn’t matter so much that you’re the last one to get to the finish line. What matters more is that you made it to your destination, that you enjoyed your journey without puttin' yourself through the torture of comparin' it with that of another.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't care at all if your pace is slow. Examine your heart of hearts and ensure you're giving your best shot to your pace. I complained to a friend once about my dissatisfaction with my progress at school and his clear and simple advice was: "do your thing at your pace, but do it well".

Pump your legs as hard as you can on your path, be happy to even be runnin' a race at all and place little importance on the gap between you and others. It may feel like everyone else is so much further down the road, but just keep up and plug away at your own pace. Wake up daily and live the life you’ve been given. Bloom!