My Own Lane

Lately I keep coming back around to this idea of swimming in your own lane.

I know I saw it on a blog somewhere (ETA: this is the post, thanks, Jesse!), and unfortunately I can't remember which one. Sometimes I don't realize that something will stick with me until after it's stuck, and I can't Pin everything (though I do my best).

Samantha French

I have this unproductive back and forth that I do: Sometimes I look at people who have much, much more than me, and I start to take stock of the "inadequacies" in my own life. I think about what life would be like if I had more money, help, energy, creativity, intellect, whateva.

Then--and I can make this transition in a heartbeat--I think about people who have much less, and I feel guilty. And I'm not talking about healthy, thinking about others and giving back feelings, but an anxiety about why I have so much when I'm so undeserving.

So lately when I start to go there, I remind myself to swim in my own lane.

It's a great shorthand for essentially what that gratitude post was about--imagining yourself in other situations keeps you from being grateful for what you have. Oddly, even imagining myself having less keeps me from being grateful. Because all I have is grace, and if I had less, I'd still have grace. And if I had more, I'd have grace AND...SWIM IN YOUR OWN LANE!

See? It works.

Also ETA: A friend suggested carrying a whistle because sometimes you can't hear the coach yelling when you're under water. Brilliant. Do you suppose Tiffany's carries a tiny silver whistle charm? Because how cute would that be...