I’m not sure how you interpret this phrase, but here’s how I see it:

• You are not competing against anybody else.  The only person that needs pleasing is you.
• Your race will be different to everybody else.  So you cannot compare where you are on the track, to where somebody else is on their track.
• Your ‘running’ style is for you to create, and only you.  Some people are sprinting, some are jogging, some are skipping, and some might even be dancing through their race.
• Don’t try to cross over into somebody else’s lane.  Instead, cheer them on from your own lane.

Can we please just embrace our unique humanness, without making everything a competition?  (Don’t get me wrong: I appreciate healthy competition in sport, and in business. Competition is often what it takes to make us better than we were.)  What I’m not a fan of is competition which leaves people feeling alone, alienated, or like they are not enough.  That is not healthy or constructive.

So please make sure that you are spending your time with people who are dancing their way through their race, cheering you on as you go.  And whenever you get the opportunity, please do the same for those in the lanes next to you!

Burano island, Venice, Italy. July 2015.  Picture taken by Alison. Notice how the houses are all different colours as a representation of each families uniqueness. Legend says that the houses were painted in bright colours so the fisherman could see their way home when fog blanketed the lagoon.