Chapter 8 – Your Race is Only YoursDear future me,I hope you remember this: the world is not a race track where we all run the same lap. It is a garden, and every plant grows in its own time. Some flowers open in the morning. Some wait until evening. And that is okay.I wasted so many days looking at other people. I looked at their jobs, their houses, their clothes, their smiles. I thought, “Why not me? Why am I still here while they are already there?” That thought became heavy. It made my own steps slow. It made me forget my own road.The truth is, when you spend your eyes on someone else’s path, you stop seeing your own. You trip. You fall. You stop walking because you are too busy counting the steps of another.But future me, please don’t be like me. Don’t waste your mornings thinking about someone else’s blessings. Allah gave you your own. Maybe they are smaller in the eyes of the world, but they are perfect for you.There is a verse I keep in my heart: “Do not wish for the things in which Allah has made some of you excel others.” It reminds me that our paths are written by the One who knows every secret in our hearts. If He gave you something later, it is because He knew it was better later.When I compare myself to others, I forget that I am not them. I forget that their pain is hidden. I forget that their tests are different. I see their smile, but I do not see their tears. I see their success, but I do not see their sleepless nights.I want you to remember — success is not one shape. It is not one job, one house, one car, one dream. Success is waking up and living a life that feels right for you, not for them.One day, I stopped looking left and right. I looked straight ahead. My road was quiet. My steps were slow. But they were mine. That day, I felt lighter. That day, I understood that my timing is not late, it is perfect.So future me, if you ever feel small because of what someone else has, come back to yourself. Look at how far you have come. Remember the days you prayed for the things you have now. Thank Allah for them. Water your own garden. Let your flowers open in their own time.Because in the end, there is no finish line where we all meet and compare medals. There is only you, your life, and the One who gave it to you.And that is enough.
And remember, the world will always try to make you hurry. It will show you pictures, numbers, and stories that make you feel late. But your clock is not their clock. Your race is not their race. When you walk at your own pace, you see the beauty they miss. You hear the quiet lessons they run past. And in that calm, you truly grow.
