Are You Making Progress in a Rat Race?

“You are the part of rat race because you are letting them treat you like a rat. This is the modern definition of a slave.” – Saurabh Sharma (Author)

Have you been in a situation where you get tired every other day and yet wonder if the energy you exert daily is worth the effort? Does it seem to you sometimes that you are taking two steps forward and three backward? Wake up! You may be in a rat race.

I remember once watching a film that had a scene in a science laboratory. It had in it a rat that continually ran earnestly in a spinning circle. It was obvious that the rat was exerting a lot of energy and was “thinking” that by running fast enough it was making progress in getting away from his captors. Little did it know that it was caught up in a vicious cycle.

Many of us are like that rat (no insult intended). We are caught up in a race and we have been exerting all our energies, creative abilities, finances, and intent in winning. Little do we know that the fact that we are running does not mean we are progressing.

A rat race is put upon us by a system. In this system things have a pattern in which they must operate. We are simply a part of this pattern and nothing more. We are expected to do the same things over and over until “expertise” is attained. At this point we are either promoted or paid higher for our “contributions”. Little do we know that the promotion or pay increase is not different from a bigger spinning circle given to a laboratory rat.

To make progress you must be on your own unique path. You must be pursuing a predetermined goal and taking premeditated actions toward it. Progress is intentional. It does not come on you but you work and walk toward it.

Rat races cut across education, occupation and career, religion, and relationships. I have been in them, in fact, I still know some that I am in at the moment. But I do not desire to remain in them. I often evaluate my actions and ask myself in every aspect of my life if I am caught up in a rat race. What I want to see is progress in every area – all cylinders firing.

I suggest you ask yourself if you are in a rat race or a progress race.