I was cycling and noticed a person ahead of me, about 1/4 of a km.
I could tell he was cycling a little slower than me and decided to try to catch him. I had about a km to go on the road before turning off.
So I started cycling faster and faster and every block, I was gaining on him just a little bit. After a few minutes I was only about 100 yards behind him, so I really picked up the pace and pushed myself. You would have thought I was cycling the last leg of London Olympic triathlon.
Finally, I caught up with him and passed him by. On the inside I felt so good. "I beat him" of course, but he didn't even know we were racing.
After I passed him, I realized that I had been so focused on competing against him that I had missed my turn, had gone nearly six blocks past it and had to turn around and go all back.
Isn't that what happens in life when we focus on competing with co-workers, neighbours, friends, family, trying to outdo them or trying to prove that we are more successful or more important? We spend our time and energy running after them and we miss out on our own paths to our destinies.