Smiling before the race- these two are rock star teachers and runners, btw!
I ran in a "real" race last Sunday. The first one since the pandemic hit. I've run in virtual races, and I've done some fun runs with my running besties, but this was the first official race running with people I didn't know. It was cold, and when I woke up my first thought was, "What the hell are you doing?" But I am so glad I ran!
After I hurt my knee in 2019, I spent some time in physiotherapy. Once I started running again, I had a goal to always be 10K ready. That means that, if there was a 10K I wanted to run in, I could sign up at the last minute and be fine. I don't want to train anymore. I want to run because I like running. I want to run because it is fun. I am over the competitive aspects of running. And that's where I am going with this post.
Here's the thing- I could look at that race from two different perspectives. The first one- I was the first place finisher in my division (and I was)! The second perspective- I finished second to last of all competitors (and I did)! Both of these statements are true, but my reaction depends on what I choose to focus on. And, I choose to focus on the fact that I ran 10K in the cold, while most people were at home in their lounge wear. I ran my own race. I didn't worry about where I was, or who was ahead of me or behind me. And, I finished with a fairly decent, for me, time.
End of the race- still smiling!
In the past, I would have tried to keep up with the pack, I would have worried about whether or not people thought I was a good runner, I would have worried about my pace. But now? Now I love to know I can run 10K whenever I want, and I can put it in cruise control and enjoy the view. What's the point of running if you can't have fun, right? Instead of comparing myself to the others in the run (who were all younger than me, by a few years), I focused on what I could control, what I could do.
I think about this in relation to other areas of life. As the saying goes, "Comparison is the thief of joy"- and it is true. How many times do we feel like we are doing the best job, that we are focused on being the best teacher we can be, only to feel deflated because someone goes even more over and above than you do? I admit I do feel that way sometimes. But what we should be doing instead is recognizing the work we are doing. Recognizing that we are doing the best we can.
So, the next time you start to compare yourself to someone else, ask yourself, "Why?" And answer that honestly. Don't let someone else's success steal the joy from your own success. We really aren't in a competition, unless it's a competition of 1- a competition of bettering *you* because you want to.
After the race- still smiling!
Keep running, keep smiling, keep on doing your thing- because you are good enough!
Way to go, Carrie!
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