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The Race

 


It is good to have goals. It is good to be driven and ambitious. It is good to make short-term sacrifices for long-term benefits. It is good to be future-focused. But can all that get me into trouble?

I characterize myself as being driven and disciplined. I have no problem homing in on an objective and going all out to achieve it, even if that means giving up a lot in the short to intermediate future.

Yes, all that can be good. But I must be careful to avoid putting on blinders that keep my focus on the future but might also cause me to miss the present. If I am not cautious, I might find myself running past true joy in the present while I chase what I think might bring me happiness in the future.

This is not a hypothetical risk. The ambitious, hard-drivers fall prey to this present-blindness all too often. How many people chose the wrong goal – for sake of illustration, let’s call it wealth for wealth’s own sake – and they sacrifice everything to achieve it? They alienate family, ignore friends, and jeopardize their health, all sacrificed on the altar of success. They create enough wealth to retire at 50, only to find themselves lonely, bitter and too miserable to enjoy any of it.

Some of us run through life like they run a race, with a dogged determination fixated on the finish. I must remember that life is not “won” at the finish. Rather, it is all about the race: the path along the way. I must not run so hard that I sprint past life. 



Photo by Braden Collum on Unsplash

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