Life is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
Sometimes, as Tom Petty once sang, “The waiting is the hardest part.” We as a society are a collection of go getters, doers and entrepreneurs. We hold people who have worked to achieve their goals and reached the mountaintop as a high ideal. But what do we do when we are not at our goal? When life dictates we put our dreams on hold or we invest years to achieve our goals with little to no progress? The short answer is: we trust the process.
So many clients come to my office comparing themselves to others in their career paths. They envy those who have things “figured out” and are content. Two things about that. First, I work with plenty of people who from the outside seem to have things “figured out” but are still not happy. Secondly, life is a marathon and not a sprint. About a year ago I read a book entitled Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement by Rich Kalgaard. In it Kalgaard relays how often times those who are dubbed “Wonderkinds” and prodigies in their field face little adversity, and later in their careers have no clue how to deal with it. In the worst cases, this leads to lies that ruin careers and topple their respective businesses. The true successes that we often admire, he points out, are the people who had a number of failures. These people learned perseverance, patience, and more about themselves through these hardships, and they were able to eventually reach their goals. Steve Jobs and J.K. Rowling are two prominent examples of this.
In a lot of ways given our current state n a global pandemic as well as professionally, I feel as though my life is in some sort of holding pattern. There is a great waiting occurring where I feel as though I am not as successful as I should be. There is so much untapped potential that could be developed and used. But there is also a need for me to be here in what Peter Scazzero in Emotionally Healthy Spirituality refers to as the uncomfortable space between. I want to encourage everyone reading this blog to reflect on where you are. Are you in the right space, where God wants you to be? Are you following the desires he has put on your heart? If so, then trust that even if you are not yet to the point of enjoying the fruits of your labor, you are exactly where you need to be. God is forming you like an arrow in his quiver (Isaiah 49). Be patient. Trust. “He who has begun a good work will be faithful and complete it” (Phil 1:6). Do not get carried away with the criteria of the world, but with hope receive what God is giving you during this season, and trust that He will bear fruit in your life when the time is right.
by Mark