Beyond Our Bubbles

Viewing Our Accomplishments from the Outside

Right now, it might feel like everything hinges on your latest achievement, which may be anything from leading the school team, getting into the right college, or getting your big promotion. For a little while after accomplishing those achievements, you feel on top of the world, like those accomplishments are the only thing that matters right now. The truth is that, while they were most likely well-deserved, most of the people around you won’t even remember those things, and you probably won’t care as much either. These moments feel huge while they are happening, but they shrink dramatically once you gain some distance from them.Whether it’s being the high school athlete everyone talks about, the college student with a perfect GPA, or the ambitious young professional aiming for that next big title at work, these bubbles are everywhere. They shift with age, but the feeling is always the same. You spend 80 hours a week staring at a computer, and no wonder the bubble feels solid, almost permanent. It often seems like what happens inside the bubble is all that matters.Who’s getting promoted? Who’s falling behind? These things become top of mind. But years from now, you’ll probably look back and wonder why you let those things rule your thoughts. You’ll realize they mattered far less than you thought, or only as part of a much larger mosaic of experiences, values, and relationships that shape who you are. They are not the only things that defined you, though they might have felt that way at the time.I have run three marathons in my life. At the time, especially with the first one, they were monumental accomplishments that marked the pinnacle of periods of serious discipline and hard work. While they certainly were major accomplishments, over time, they’ve quietly folded themselves into the background of who I am. If you met me today, “marathon runner” wouldn’t be one of the first things I’d say about myself. The medals are tucked away in a shoebox somewhere in a closet. I don’t need to see them anymore to remember the still-vivid experiences that came with completing them. That I trained for them for many months, woke up at 5am to run a mile to the start line, and finished each race. That part of me is still there, but it no longer has to take up as much space as it once did.The truth is, the world is much bigger than your bubble. And if you can take even one step back to see it more clearly, you’ll begin to understand just how small that bubble was all along. Whatever the marathon equivalent is in your life, whether it's a major win, a proud title, or a personal milestone, it’s worth viewing it from the outside. When you do, you’ll realize there are hundreds of other bubbles, surrounding you and surrounding everyone else. Seeing your life from this wider vantage point has a way of always humbling you.