We all know the story of the tortoise and the hare. The former steadily and slowly moves toward the finish line, the latter swiftly assumes he'll be victorious. I just realized I am the tortoise.
Surely, I behaved much like the hare, thinking I would win, knowing I was well suited for the race. I had established talents, skills, but no focus, or direction. This left me scrambling - aimlessly flailing my arms and legs, watching the competition cruise on by toward "success"
Then, somewhat like the hare, I just took myself out of the race, but not because I knew I could catch up, I stopped trying because I'd given up, confused about why my talents weren't propelling me to victory.
I stopped running, and sat down to take stock of my reality. I got comfortable in the shade and then something miraculous happened. I became more comfortable with myself. I began to explore and enjoy my gifts and passions.
I started to understand there is no competition, we're all running individual races and the finish line is ever changing. I will cross many goal lines in my lifetime: graduation, wedding, childbirth, finding a job, quitting a job, discovering my passion, staying married, raising the child, turning my passion into a career.
And that's where I am, being a tortoise and slowly, but surely approaching another goal. Slow and steady.
