Life IS A Race

Given the controversy that surrounds this title, I deem it necessary to give a precursor to all my readers. Before you proceed, kindly leave behind all primitive constructs that you might have about the title. Please read this with an open mind and without any judgemental thoughts, so that you can grasp the essence of what I am trying to say. I will not ask you to agree with my perspective but I will surely ask you to understand the lens through which I view those 4 words and then give it a thought.

Ever since we have come across these words, it has always been perceived in a negative light, trying to convey something incendiary. We have seen these words being used in movies and books, mostly to convey that life is a race with ‘fellow people’. Since ages, this title is presumed to have only a ‘comparative’ tone to it but I believe it is high time that we look beyond its’ literary meaning and advance towards understanding what it wants to convey in a larger capacity.

Similar to my previous blog posts, majority of what I will say will depend on the perspective you will look at it from. So, an open mind ready to embrace a changed outlook is all you need up your sleeve to understand this post perfectly.

Well this has been quite a lengthy disclaimer but now let me reroute you towards an undiscovered chain of thought. When one says, Life Is A Race, it is natural of us humans to presume that it is a battle between us and others. That it is about beating another to excel. Let me tell you, this is the wrong way to look at this saying. There is a completely different viewpoint you could look at it from and realize that you were steering in the wrong way all this while.

I strongly believe that the right way to look at this, at least one that will help you grow is to consider yourself as your opponent in this race of life. All you have to do is make yourself your only competitor and the day you do this, the title will make complete sense to you.

Life is a race between who you were yesterday and who you are today. Life is a race between what ideologies and values you stuck to yesterday and what values you stick to today. Life is a race to be better than who you were yesterday. Life is a race to live life better than you did yesterday. Life is a race to feel and grow better today than you ever did.

The perspective I am trying to bring in here is one which suggests you to stop comparing yourself with the world around you. Everyone has their own journey to embark on and each of them has a different pace to do it. In such a situation where destinations are different, it is pointless to make trains compete with each other on the same track. It is absolutely undesirable to compare yourself with anyone else because that process is something contagious and will make you feel envious, lose your self-confidence, think more about someone else’s progress than that of yourself, think of ways to bring down others rather than thinking of ways to propel yourself and what not.

At a certain point I might agree to an extent that having a contemporary whom you can compare yourself with gives you a motivating drive to achieve. I agree that it urges you to go over and beyond your current capabilities. But again, this is good only as long as you have a positive attitude towards it. If such competition makes you realize your shortcomings, encourages you to learn and adapt, boosts your confidence and helps you concentrate on your trajectory of growth than that of others, I would say it is a good influence that you must remain under. It is a really helpful way to unfurl your potential and I would advise you to proceed in that direction.

Yet, as much as I would wish this to happen, a majority of us still view our competitors as our enemies whom we must take down at any cost. If competition is forcing you to shift your focus from what you are doing to what someone else is doing, it does more harm than good to you. Comparison is good but if that leads to you coming out condescending to others, then you yourself will not appreciate your demeanor.

As much as it is important to try to better yourself, it is equally important to appreciate others’ progress and viewing everyone as a competitor whom you believe you have to defeat always, will not help you much in doing so. We have often heard the phrase ‘healthy competition’. To state things clearly and in a raw form, this phrase sounds really convincing and gives off a great message but people are yet to understand its true meaning. By healthy, it is meant to convey the following meanings, in no particular order :-

1. Realization over Rivalry.

2. Improvement over Insecurity.

3. Empathy over Envy.

4. Determination over Deterrence.

5. Progression over Pessimism.

You need to make a checklist and see whether what you deem to be healthy competition is along these lines or not. It is highly understandable that it is difficult to see, accept and bear with the fact that someone might be doing better than you but trust me, it is more disheartening to see yourself swimming in mediocrity because you are more busy contemplating about what others are doing.

To exceed, you always need one motivating factor and what better than the constant motivation that you pump yourself with to go the extra mile each day! Progress is addictive, and once you cultivate the highly essential habit of taking one step extra each day, that day your path to greatness will unfold effortlessly before you. All you have to do is channelize all your focus towards the recipient who truly deserves it, you.

So, I hope the essence that I wanted to highlight through this post has somewhat penetrated the rustic layer of thought we have cultivated over the past years and might influence you to see through a different and much more dynamic lens.

On an ending note, to give you a strong message that you would want to carry with you, when you focus on where your kite is flying and which direction it is headed, you won’t have to worry when it might get cut off because honestly, it won’t. It knows how to surpass those kites which are busy trying to cut off others than rather concentrate on its own path.

So the game again has reached a crucial stage where perspective is your strongest pawn. Yet again, make your move wisely or checkmate won’t be a distant reality.

Wishing my readers the best of health and intellect, I hope this made a good read for you and got you to rethink your priorities. Until next time!