The other day on my way back in from my run I noticed one of those little “Your Speed Is…” machines on Puddintown Road. (Yes, it’s Puddintown, without the G. No, I don’t know why.) The number I saw as I approached surprised me.
I’ve never been accused of being fast. When I was a high school quarterback the coaches let me run with the linemen, just so I had a chance to win some sprints. I was pretty quick for a tackle, I guess. (No offense, Gerald!) But the number that showed up on the sign was BIG. As I made the turn and headed down the flat, straight road, the sign told me that my speed was 25 miles and hour! I got a little excited, grabbed another gear, and the number moved up to 26.
Only then did the car coming behind me show up in my peripheral vision, dashing my illusions of grandeur. I wasn’t hauling booty at 25 miles and hour; the car was. I guess Usain Bolt’s records are safe for now.
When it comes time to do the self-survey, to see how you’re doing in life, you have to know what to compare yourself against. I would feel like a failure if I compared myself to that car (or a faster offensive guard.) But if I compare myself to others who aren’t doing as well as me, I look pretty good. The thing is, neither of these comparisons help me measure my progress.
The only way to win at the comparison game is to take a good hard look at my own life and to track my progress along the path that God has laid out for me. I have to be brutally honest about where I am compared to where I started, and to know clearly what my goals and are.
There will always be people who do it better than me–whatever it is–singing, playing guitar, parenting, writing, Chinese jump rope, school work, etc. And there will always be people that I can out-run, out-juggle, out-skipbo…but that doesn’t matter.
What matters is how I’m doing compared to where I was last time around the track, how much progress I’m making on being the me that God has called me to be, the me that God wants me to be.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get some rest. I have a big race against a kid on a scooter tomorrow.
0 Comments