What About Him?

The ancient question that still steals your momentum today

Dear Loved One,

The fastest way to lose a 100m sprint is to look at the runner in the next lane.

The moment a sprinter turns their head even an inch to see where the competition is, their neck muscles tighten, their stride shortens, and their wind resistance increases. They don’t just lose focus, they literally lose speed.

In life, we do the same thing.

We spend more emotional energy tracking someone else’s progress than we do building our own. We refresh the feed, we check the LinkedIn announcement, and we measure our lives against their highlight reel.

We are looking at their “Finished Masterpiece” (the award, the closed deal, the polished post) while we are sitting in our “Messy Studio,” (the messy desk, the rejected proposal, the 2:00 AM anxiety). We are trying to measure our ‘Season of Planting’ against their ‘Season of Harvest’. It is an unfair, rigged comparison that always leaves us feeling like we are behind schedule.

In this age of personal branding, everyone presents a curated version of reality. When you compare yourself to that curation, you are comparing a person to a statue. One is breathing and struggling, the other is frozen in a pose of perfection. You cannot compete with a statue.

Even the greats struggled with this. In John 21, right after Jesus gave Peter a profound, specific commission for his life, Peter did the most “human” thing possible. He looked over his shoulder at John and asked:

“Lord, what about him?” (John 21:21)

Peter had just been given a direct mandate from the Creator, but he couldn’t enjoy it until he knew how it compared to the guy in the next lane.

Jesus’ response was the ultimate “mind your business” moment:

“If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.“

In other words: His lane is not your business. Your distraction is your only real enemy.

This week, I want to challenge you to a “Sideways Blackout.” Stop checking the scoreboard of people who are not playing your game. You cannot reach your finish line if you are busy watching theirs. You are losing speed every time you look sideways.

Your value is not determined by your rank in the race, it’s determined by your faithfulness to the lane you were assigned.

Run your race. Keep your eyes on the Finish Line, not the next lane.

Excellence is an internal standard. If you win the race but ran someone else’s lane, you still lost.

Shalom,
Ayo Daniels