You can run faster than me? Who cares!

Joshua Sopko
Aug 24, 2017 · 4 min read

You can run faster than me. Who cares?

Competition is good. In fact, it’s really good. It’s the driving force behind technological innovations, industrial changes, and even personal growth. I like to think even in early ancestral days, tribal leaders would compete with who could kill the biggest animal to provide for the tribe. Competition gives us value in life and something to strive for. But it can be a tricky game. Competition can lead to comparison, and comparison is the biggest thief of joy. It can destroy you.

I spoke with a fellow photographer friend this morning who shared about the thief in her business. She mentioned how agonizing it was to see other people’s work that she viewed as better than hers. She even started unfollowing many of these photographers on social media. These were photographers that used to inspire her. Her comparison of her work to other was stealing her joy. I can relate. I think we all can.

I had just run the fastest 3.1 miles in my life, and I was upset with myself.

A few months ago I set out to be healthier. I signed up for a 5k race and began training. I knew I wasn’t super fast, but nothing prepared me for race day. I was on my last mile. My heart was pounding, chest aching, legs on fire. I watched in horror as person after person passed me. As if with every step I was adding weights to my legs. I finished the race defeated. I didn’t feel accomplished. I didn’t feel pride, or joy. I had just run the fastest 3.1 miles in my life, and I was upset with myself. The first thing I did upon completion was check my race stats. “What place did I get? What was my time?” It was all I could think about. I placed 12th overall, 5th in my age bracket. How could those other runners be so much faster than me? Competition was driving me to be better, but comparison was stealing my joy.

I’ve heard it time and time again, “Your race, your pace. The only person you’re out there to beat is yourself.” I hear it, but I just didn’t get it. I’ve recently ramped up my training to run a full marathon. Whenever I meet someone who has ran a marathon, my first thought is: “How fast can they run it in?” What I noticed, however, was that none of those people cared about their pace — or mine for that matter. They cared about the challenge of the run. Competing against yourself and giving it your all. Running the best race possible, and coming away feeling proud and accomplished. I had to do a serious mental shift, and fast. The race is just a few short weeks away.

The mental shift? Stop comparing apples to oranges. My race isn’t their race. The person passing me could have been running for years. They could have been training 6+ hours a day. Frankly, none of that matters. What matters is me. What’s important is that I’m out there, putting in the work and the time and the effort to run the best race I can.

The aforementioned photographer shares the same experience as many I know. As a professional photographer myself, I know this feeling well. We all gotten stuck in the trap: “How much does So-and-So charge? Can I charge that much? Oh, my images aren’t as good, I probably can’t.” That’s a dangerous game in the cut-throat world of photography. Being confident in yourself and charging what you’re worth is a big piece of being successful in the photography industry. So stop comparing apples to oranges. Your pictures are not their pictures. Change your mindset. What is it about that picture that makes it appealing, and how could you achieve a similar look. Is it the posing, the lighting, the composition? Take notes and get back to being inspired. Stop comparing and strive to just get better.

No one wakes up and just runs a marathon either. They put in the work. They set a goal.

I need to hear those words myself, now more than ever. I need to stop focusing on those passing me and focus on how I’m running. Relax my shoulders, land on the balls of my feet, chest forward and out, breathe. Don’t forget to breathe. I’ll finish the race and I’ll be damn proud of it. All those that finished before me — I’m damn proud of them too. They didn’t wake up and run a marathon either. They put in the work. They set a goal. They ran a race against themselves too. This isn’t to discount competition. But at the end of the day, we can only do our best and push ourselves beyond the limits in our own head — not the limits of someone else.

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Joshua Sopko

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Joshua is a father, a husband, and child of Christ. He devours cheeseburgers like candy and loves to take on challenges that make him uncomfortable.

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