I’ve been practicing yoga for over 20 years. Ever since my very first yoga class in Ojai, CA, I realized that this beautiful and ancient practice was the perfect antidote to my overly anxious monkey mind. Today, I was in my yoga class and there was this perfect swan of a woman next to me. She was long, lean, lithe and flexible. She executed her chatarangas and paschimottanasanas with grace and ease. It was wonderful to behold and yet the ego stormed in with a vengeance.
“What the hell?” I berated myself, “Why can’t I extend my leg out like that in reverse half moon? Damn, how’d she get her head all the way to her feet in scorpion?”
I was deeply unyogic and practicing competitive yoga.
Which, obviously, is not the point.
Even in a spiritual practice like yoga, I was having a hard time turning off the little competitive spirit that is constantly comparing and wanting TO WIN. Uh, you can’t win at yoga. There are no yoga olympics. You don’t get a gold medal for being the bendiest.
So, as year-end is upon us, it’s probably a good reminder to run your own race. I know it’s tempting to compare your campaign and your fundraising with others. You want to raise more, do more, get more donors. In the end, you’re just running a race against yourself. There will always be someone who raises more money, gets more donors, has a bigger year-end or is more flexible.
So what?
Comparison is the thief of joy.
Run your own race. Focus on your own campaign. Look no further than your own mat.
