Contentment and The Competitor

Do you ever think to yourself, "If I win a race, I'll be happy."?

Or, "I can PR and then I'll be happy."

Maybe you are just a little more subtle than that... so while you are racing, you think to yourself, "If I can just beat the girl in that pink sparkle skirt..."

It could also be that you just want to cross the finish line after X amount of miles.

Sometimes it can be a bit like Aesop's dog-- except it's that PR you are after. If I get too greedy, I start back at speed work too soon after a hard race and wind up with a mysterious injury.

And even if you aren't into racing, maybe you care about recording data in a running log. Even training can become competitive. I personally try NOT to get into that kind of competition.

I am here to promise you that NO matter how GREAT that race goes, who you beat, how fast you finished it, or how far it was, there will ALWAYS be
       faster

               farther

                    and ...    more challenging

So, where do you find contentment?

Where does anyone find happiness in a target that is constantly moving? 

Where is that perfect place to rest in your ability and effort? 

These are thoughts I struggle with. But to be very honest, I don't struggle with them much during a race, when I am simply trying to finish ahead of the next person. (Physically maybe, but not mentally.) You'll never catch me thinking "Oh, I should let her finish before me".

It's afterwards that I look back over the performance and analyze, critique and evaluate if I did my best, and decide if I can be content with what transpired.

But if I am ever content with my performance, it's not for long. That's how I am wired.  Actually, I think that's how ALL humans are wired, especially competitive-runner-women.
Does the love of competition conflict with living a godly life? I am not sure.


The Bible says that we should aim for contentment.

1Timothy 6: ⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain.

The Bible also gives direction to how to find contentment.

Philippians 4:¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

We all have a longing for eternity that is unquenchable. This longing is the source of all our striving, and desire for contentment. It can only truly be quenched when we are at one with the Lord.  

Ecclesiastes 3^:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. ¹² I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. ¹³ That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. 

It doesn't seem possible to be fully at-one with the Lord (and complete) at all times here on earth.  So in essence- as long as we are running on this side of heaven, we will not find a permanent state of contentment. The BEST we can do is to find satisfaction in our efforts and spend time with the Lord:

- in prayer/communication with him
-or actively worshiping him (music, etc..)
-or (and this is the part I struggle with) by modeling ourselves to be more like Him, loving and serving others and holding others needs above our own. Self-sacrifice.

I look to examples like Jeff Galloway and Eric Liddell for inspiration. They will be remembered not simply for their great athletic ability, but for making a choice to invest themselves into others. I believe they understood where to find true and lasting contentment.

 Galloway, coach and motivational speaker once said in an interview with marathontalk.com that a turning point for his life was when he chose to pace another runner for a spot on the Olympic team.  At trials, he dropped out of a race he might have qualified in. Since then, he has spent the better portion of his life putting his skills and life experience into helping others.

 Liddell is best known for his choosing not to race his specialty on the sabbath, but then going on to Olympic victory in a distance he was not trained for. What is brushed over in the movie Chariots of Fire, is that he left his career as a runner to serve as a missionary in China during WWII and died in a Japanese camp after sharing the gospel.

It's time to begin a new chapter in my running story.

It's a chapter full of excitement and heartbreak, wins and losses, LOTS of growth. Maybe even some contentment. :) I am taking some new risks where the reward will be to see others find success.

Hope to do some running soon with this neighbor: a go-getter, and a grade school 1500M district champion.

 The tops of my shoes are going to get dirty.  But that's a good thing. It means I am spending more time in prayer. With His help, all things are possible.