I'm sure you've heard the saying that life isn't a race against anyone other than yourself. While this may sound good and even true, what exactly does a life that's only measured against one's self look like?

It's not hard to imagine living life in a constant state of comparison. If you're measuring your life by any standard other than your own, you're spending far too much time focusing on others. Letting go of the opinions of others is the first step towards reaching your goals - this enables you to take ownership of the trail ahead of you. If you try to be like someone else but better, you'll always fail because you aren't playing to your strengths.

Running a race against yourself means that you have a clear picture of the finish line in your mind. What's the point of running a race that doesn't have a finish line? When you have a vision, you'll have something to measure your actions against. Without beginning with the end in mind you'll be forced to settle for something because you couldn't envision anything better.

What's the point of running a race that we don't enjoy? This should be your greatest fear: that you'll spend your life doing something you don't enjoy. How many people work jobs they can't stand? How many of people's closest relationships are constantly overrun by conflict? This doesn't happen because they were unlucky, but because they gave up on clearly defining and working towards their ideal life. It's like running on a treadmill where there's no end in sight. You can't ever win a race if you don't know where the finish line is.

It's all too easy to think that someone winning in the race of life means that someone else had to lose, this however is not by any means the case. Life isn't a zero-sum game. When you're running against yourself, the only thing that matters is that you learn and become better. But ultimately life is a race that isn't measured in time but rather in meaning. So, if you can maximize the number of meaningful things you spend your time on, when you cross the finish line you'll know that your life counted for something. That's what it looks like to run the race of life against yourself; when you're so focused on what means the most to you that everything else fades away.