There are two places that people will cheer you on: the starting line and the finishing line. It’s not very often that you’ll find a fan in between those two points. Never was this more true than at my brother Joshua’s first race, a duathalon.
As he and the other runners lined up at the starting line, of which my uncle was also included, one could hear the cheers, well-wishes and counsel bubbling from the expectant crowd. Soon, the signal was given and all of them leapt off the line and onto the road to victory. Cheers erupted once again. The race of running 4.2 miles and biking twelve had begun.
In the account he would tell me afterwards, it was after the starting line that he realized that this was a race that he would have to run alone. It was for him more than anyone else. No one was lining the streets to throw their encouragements to him. For that, he would simply have to make it to the finish line, where we were all waiting expectantly.
Have you ever felt that way in life? Have you ever came up with an idea or dream, and at first, everyone was super excited about it only to find that after the first leap from the starting line you were left alone to make it? I have. I believe that every leader, dreamer, or artist has been in the same situation.
The trick is to realize that this is your race, and no one else is going to run it for you. No one is going to make the dream come true for you, or create the art that you feel inside. In the middle of the process, you will be alone. But you have to make it to the finish line! Don’t be upset with the ones who cheered you at the start. Look for them waiting at the finish line.
What races have you run alone? How did you cope with the lonely middle of the race?
