Do you have that friend that no matter what they do, it seems to be perfect? I think we all do. But as I’ve heard before, don’t compare your chapter 1 to someone else’s chapter 20. You have no idea what it took them to get there. You don’t know how many failures they’ve had before they got to their chapter 20. And the fact that they’ve had time to get to chapter 20 speaks volumes as well.

You are in a race with no one but yourself. Life is not a marathon (although it certainly does feel that way sometimes). It seems to be to be a series of sprints. Dating someone you think you can marry – a sprint. Getting engaged and planning the perfect wedding – a sprint. Settling into marriage for the long term – a sprint. The nine months it takes to grow a baby – a sprint. The birth and first year – a sprint. The next few years – a sprint. Interviewing and landing your dream job – a sprint. Staying focused and challenged enough to keep it – a sprint. Searching for and buying a house – a sprint. Keeping up with the maintenance and mortgage – a sprint. Deciding you’d rather live someplace else and starting over again – a sprint.

Every piece of our lives is a sprint, but the thing is, we really aren’t in a race–it’s not a competition. We are only trying to better ourselves. If you’re trying to keep up with the Joneses, you are in for a marathon for which you’ve had no training. Stick to the sprint at your own pace. You’ll get there, you can rest in between, and you’ll have a whole lot more fun doing it.