7:46
Recently, I ran a mile in 7 minutes and 46 seconds.
It is funny how the evaluation of this time is almost entirely relative.
To some, this time would be great. They cannot imagine completing a mile in under 12 minutes, or perhaps even completing a mile run at all! They might be impressed with the time, or not even consider it as impressive because they cannot comprehend what it takes to accomplish a mile run in general.
To others, this time is somewhat laughable. They casually run 5 or 6 minute miles as part of a fuller workout of 5 or 6 miles. The last time they ran a mile over 7 minutes, they were in middle or high school.
Even to myself, there were seasons when this time has meant different things. In this current season, I am proud of that mile time: I feel out of shape, out of rhythm physically. The last time I ran a mile under 8 minutes was over a year ago. But there was a time where I was running 6 minute miles daily, and regularly running 2 miles in 13 minutes.
As I stretched afterwards and thought about my run, I was reminded of something applicable to life, not just running.
In different seasons, your idea of success will look different. To different people, the idea of success looks different. At the end of the day, for the most part, you get to define success. Define success and be content in meeting your own expectations.
There is space to look at success differently.
Honestly, one of the beauties of running and exercising in general is that no one that matters is judging my mile negatively. The people who cannot complete the mile either have positive perspectives of this accomplishment or neutral/non-existent thoughts about it. The people who are doing far more or far better recognize the hard work to run a mile, so they applaud getting it done anyways. I am not competing against them.
The people who are encouraging me to better myself are not judging me. The people who are judging me are offering an opinion that does not matter.
A few years ago, I confessed to a friend some struggles I had with working out. I avoided working out with people due to some insecurities and comparison. I could not lift what he could, and I am so skinny, and I have a concave chest, etc. Unfortunately, this prevented me from building a rhythm of working out because one excuse would lead to another, and I would miss out on opportunities because I was sitting in my own misery.
This friend, one of the nicest people, delivered some kind but blunt words: “dude, no one cares”.
He was not saying that no one cared about my insecurities or trying to brush me off; he was saying that no one cared about those things that I evaluated so critically. “Just try to make yourself better”. It was a critical moment for me, 2019 or so, when I stopped competing against others unnecessarily and shifted my focus to competing against myself.
At the end of the day, success is defined differently by different people and different seasons. The real thing to be encouraged by is that a success happened: I completed a mile.
You get to define success for yourself.
In this season, it looks different than other seasons. Yes, there are some objective truths, ie. running a mile is a success and sitting home eating a whole pizza would not be a success in terms of health. But, in general, success is relative.
Stop comparing yourself to others. You are only competing against yourself and your own definition of success.
I often find myself trying to achieve success based on others’ expressed or perceived criteria. Some wisdom from Lecrae Moore challenges me in this: “If you live for people's acceptance, you'll die from their rejection.” I have on more than one occasion sacrificed something that brought me joy or was considered a success in my own eyes because it did not fulfill the expectations of someone else.
I am reminding myself today that I do not need to live for the acceptance and approval of other people. This summer, I am refining my circle that helps me define success and I will lean into them to grow and move forward.
So, for today, I am content with 7:46.
I consider that a success.