Run Your Race, But Keep Moving

There is an interesting story about a young boy who was constantly anxious about his progress in life. He felt inadequate whenever he compared his talents, achievements and resources with those of his peers. The more he looked at what others were accomplishing, the less satisfied he became with his own journey.

In search of answers to the many questions occupying his young mind, he approached an elderly monk for advice.

The monk gave him three seeds to plant: a lily seed, a mango seed and a bamboo seed.

A month later, the young boy returned with his observations. The lily seed had blossomed into a beautiful flower. The mango seed had broken through the soil and produced a young shoot. But the bamboo seed showed no visible sign of growth.

The monk used the opportunity to teach him an important lesson: every seed has its own timeline.

The lily, the mango and the bamboo were never meant to grow at the same pace. Each had its own nature, its own process and its own destination. Comparing them was therefore meaningless.

The same is true of professional growth.

Your career is a personal journey shaped by your circumstances, choices, opportunities, capabilities, experiences and efforts. Your colleague may receive a promotion before you. Someone you started your career with may appear to be far ahead. Another professional may acquire a qualification, secure a major appointment or achieve a level of visibility that you are yet to attain.

None of these automatically means that you are behind.

You must learn to run your own race.

But there is an important qualification to this advice—one that becomes particularly relevant as we enter the final stretch of the year.

Running your own race does not mean running without a sense of urgency.

The story of “Calling the Mare” reminds us that while every farmer has a different pace and every harvest has its own circumstances, there comes a time when the harvest must be completed. The mare becomes a symbol of unfinished work—a reminder that time has moved on and that something that should have been done remains undone.

That is where the two lessons meet.

Don't compare your race with someone else's. But don't become so comfortable with your own pace that you fail to recognise when it is time to move.

Perhaps you have been telling yourself that you will acquire a new professional skill "later."

Perhaps that certification has remained on your list since January.

Perhaps you intended to attend a training programme, improve your leadership capability, learn a new technology or prepare yourself for the next level of your career.

Perhaps you have watched others progress and concluded that your time will eventually come.

It may.

But your time will not come simply because you wait for it.

The bamboo in the story spent considerable time beneath the ground before its spectacular growth became visible. That period was not wasted. It was developing an extensive root system that would eventually support its remarkable height.

This is an important lesson for professionals whose progress may not yet be visible.

Preparation is progress.

• Learning is progress.
• Building competence is progress.
• Developing relationships is progress.
• Acquiring experience is progress.
• Working on yourself when nobody is applauding is progress.

Do not despise your season of preparation simply because someone else's results are already visible.

At the same time, do not use the idea of "my own timeline" to rationalise complacency.

• There is a difference between patience and procrastination.
• There is a difference between preparation and postponement.
• There is a difference between running your own race and refusing to run at all.

As September begins and the year enters its final stretch, this is an excellent time to look inward rather than sideways.

Forget for a moment how far your colleagues have gone.

Ask instead:

• Where was I twelve months ago?
• What have I learned since then?
• What skills have I developed?
• What professional goals have I achieved?
• What remains unfinished?

And perhaps most importantly:

What must I do now to avoid having the “Mare” dropped at my doorstep?

Your greatest competition is not the person sitting beside you. It is the version of yourself that is content to remain where it is.

Focus on defining and refining YOU.

Become more knowledgeable. Become more capable. Become more adaptable. Become more valuable. Invest deliberately in your professional development.

Celebrate other people's progress without allowing it to diminish your own. Their success is not evidence of your failure. Their timeline is not your timeline.

But let their progress inspire you to keep moving.

Run your race.

• Run it with patience when patience is required.
• Run it with persistence when the journey becomes difficult.
• Run it with humility when others move ahead.
• Run it with courage when your path looks different.

And run it with urgency when you realise that time is running out on something that matters.

Because ultimately, professional growth is not about arriving before everyone else.

It is about ensuring that when your harvest season comes, you have something to show for the journey.

So, as we enter September, don't be distracted by how fast others are running.

Run your race - but keep moving.

• Keep learning.
• Keep growing.
• Keep preparing.
• Keep improving.

And above all, make sure the Mare is not dropped at your doorstep.

Run Your Race. Grow at Your Pace. But Never Stop Moving.