Stay in Your Lane : The Importance of Running Your Race

Stay in Your Lane

With the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio approaching, one of my favorite Olympic events I look forward to watching is the men and women’s track and field. Track and field actually covers a few elements but my favorite is the running events. The strength and the talent of the runners is unquestionable. But it takes more than talent to be successful in the Olympic running races. All runners have to follow one basic rule.

When runners start the race, their body is in perfect form and their feet are rested against the starting block. The moment the gun is fired, the runners take off. They can go as fast as they can but no matter what, they must always stay in their lane.

I believe a runner’s race is very much like our lives. We all start life with that first breath and then the journey begins. Every single one of us is born with gifts and talents. The true question we must ask ourselves is not just what are we doing with our gifts and talents, but are we proud of our gifts and talents? Are we satisfied with who we are in this lifetime? Are we running in our own lane or are we busy trying to be in someone else’s lane?

Somewhere along in life, we start to compare ourselves with everyone else. Maybe it started in high school when you wish you were the popular one. Maybe you were the popular one, but yet you still wanted to be someone else or look like someone else. Perhaps after college someone in your inner circle got the dream job you wish you had. I could generate pages of examples of how men and women compare themselves to others and wish they had what so and so had or wish they had a different life. At some point I am sure most of us wished we were in a different lane.

Check this out. The interesting fact about how a runner’s track is made, is that the lanes are precisely made with the same widths and formed with the same curvature. Runners in a race do not have an advantage of having a special lane. In the same way, our lanes called life are not any less important than someone else’s. Your race was designed by God for a special purpose and destiny that only you can run, therefore, stay in your lane. That is not all there is to the concept of staying in your lane.

Run Your Own Race

You probably know this, but one of the types of Olympic races for runners is the relay race. In a relay race, there are 4 runners who run a certain amount of the track and then they have to pass their baton on to their teammate. Each teammate must run their portion of the lane. Relay races requires everyone to do their part, stay focused, and stay in their lane.

What happens in a regular race when a runner does not stay in their lane? They can get disqualified. What happens in a relay race when a runner does not stay in their lane? They can get the team disqualified. If you think about your life in the bigger picture; your life impacts the world around you more than you know. Your life right now even impacts the generations to come after you. Wow! That is a big thought but it is the truth.

 If you do not stay in your lane who will run your lane? If you lose focus in the race and start comparing your lane to someone else’s lane, what good does that do? When runners start looking to the side of their lane too much, they can lose their footing, start veering off, and they can run into another runner. What ultimately may happen is that they can injure another runner and they can injure themselves.

Guess what? I am guilty of not staying in my lane. I have injured myself far too many times with comparing myself with someone else’s life. Many times I get too busy looking at everyone else’s lane that I lose my own footing in my own race! I also have lost precious time wasting it by wanting to be in another lane. I have put myself down that I am too slow in my race or too far behind in my race. Instead of looking at what lies within, which is purpose, and what lies ahead, which is destiny, I look around me and I become lost.

It is so vital to stay in your lane. I literally have to tell myself that daily sometimes. All it can take is a glance on social media and I start veering off my lane saying “I wish I had her job or I wish I had her tall figure.” There is nothing wrong with wanting to improve yourself and reach for your goals, but constantly comparing your life with someone else’s will make you fall behind in your own race. Get back in your lane. Even if you have to tell yourself out loud sometimes like I do, stay in your lane. Stay in your lane.

Stay in Your Lane. Run Your Own Race.

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Take care,



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8 thoughts on “Stay in Your Lane : The Importance of Running Your Race

  1. Love, love, LOVE!!! “Instead of looking at what lies within, which is purpose, and what lies ahead, which is destiny, I look around me and I become lost.” This especially hits home for me. Thanks so much for this! xo

  2. I love running so I could really relate to the analogy. Do you run too? Your descriptions and comparisons were very detailed. Also, thank you for being so candid! We all struggle with comparing ourselves to others. You’re not the only one, girl. I hope we can encourage each other to stay in our lanes!

    1. I use to run almost everyday. I would love to get back into it. I got away from it plus I broke my driving foot almost 2 years ago. I love running though. Yes girl. If I can’t be honest then I might as well not write 🙂

  3. I think we forget the importance of staying in our lane. We can’t do our best if we concentrate too hard on who is running beside us – we lose focus and veer off track.

    I have a love hate with social media. On one hand it’s an amazing tool to connect with people around the world. On the other hand the comparing game can cause personal demons to surface and many of us are not ready to face them head on. Let’s not forget that the ones we admire most have their struggles too and what makes them seem as though they have it all together is perhaps they’ve learned to stay in their lane.

    Great post Naomi!

    1. Yes. Social media is great but I find myself just scrolling through and comparing myself. It is a trap. We have to remind ourselves who we are in Christ.

  4. This is a great thought. So true. It’s been well said that comparison living is a thief of joy. We are only to be who we are in Christ and grow to be only that and in that! We should encourage them to stay in their lane and everyone should not be quick to judge people, especially those just trying to encourage others to grow all the more as a person, and through there God given skills, gifts and talents. This shouldn’t happen, especially in the body of Christ…everyone should seek to understand one another. There are a lot of good hearted people with good intentions out there trying to do good so we should seek to encourage one another in the journey God has each person on. Social media is brutal sometimes and does feed comparison living or misunderstandings that could be avoided. You seem to have a lot going for you and it’s fantastic at your stage in life that you’re getting what many who are not so in your stage in life anymore haven’t always gotten but need too! Keep fighting the good fight.

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