Our purpose is our defense against comparison

​I read that Bob Goff quote yesterday morning before I was setting out to finish up a big running journey I've been on. I was attempting to "virtually" cross the state of Tennessee in 2 months. That was 635 miles in 61 days. I'd never run/walked 300 miles before in 61 days, let alone more than double that.

To say the least, yesterday I was attempting to complete what has been a daunting task. Maybe the hardest physical task I've ever taken on. But in the end, I did it.

I was reminded in doing it, though, that the celebration is in "why" I did it and not in the opportunity I have today to say I did it. Because when it comes to running, and I dare say when it comes to my life, purpose is the goal, not winning. Not accomplishment.

Over the years, and especially since I took up running, I've come to believe being captivated by purpose is the strongest defense we have against comparison. When we look through our zoom lens in life and see our purpose and not someone else's results, we are much more likely to keep moving forward.

Every day in this race we had to go online and enter our daily miles. And every day, in doing so, I got to see just how many people were finishing this race days and weeks and even more than a month faster than me. So every day, I had to pull out my lens and look and remind myself this race wasn't about me - or them - it was about something bigger than all of us.

My personal race was about running to fight poverty, and namely, running to fight it in partnership with Soles4Souls - an organization that uses the shoes and clothes we no longer want or need to create opportunities for people around the world.

More specific than that, it was for a little girl I met when I went to Honduras last summer with Soles4Souls. I don't know her name, only her smile. I'll never forget that smile on her face when we slipped a new pair of shoes on feet that hadn't had shoes in a long time.

Her smile lives in my heart, it tugs at my soul, it's a relentless pull on my life. It pulls me constantly in the direction of loving her and loving others like her and in pursuing smiles for people who don't often get them.

I think it's hard to find purpose in reading about poverty in a book or online, but when you see it in the eyes, face to face, of another beautiful human being, well you've read a story you'll never forget. You are forever a character in THAT story.

So when the running got hard, I zoomed my lens in on that smile.

When I saw how middle of the pack I was in the standings compared to other runners, I zoomed in on that smile.

When I thought about just how unrealistic my belief that "poverty has a finish line" is, I zoomed in on that smile.

When I thought about all the people who do more than me to help other people, when I thought about how other people have more resources to do more than me, I zoomed in on that smile.

You are going out in this world today. You have another chance to pull out your zoom lens and focus. What will you see? Will you see all that others are doing? Will you see a million reasons why you can't do what you feel drawn to do? What will you see?

Remember, you are in control of that lens. You can zoom that thing in on what you want, just as close and tight and clear as you desire to see it. That's what is completely cool about a zoom lens.

Zoom it in on making a difference. Set your sights on that difference and start walking or running to it. And when someone or something enters the path of that journey, something that leads you to believe you won't make it or that your efforts are insignificant, crop them out of the picture and keep going. (And that is what is completely cool about Photoshop)!

In the end we're either captivated by our purpose or distracted by all the reasons we can't pursue it. That is completely our choice.

What is captivating you today?