Staying in My Own Lane

Posted in life lessonsTagged , , , , ,

“Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.” – Judy Garland

My brother and I like to talk about Wordle strategies. It seems to be our easy, go-to conversation. To be fair, my brother has all the strategies and I’m just a decent guesser.

His goal is to have more successes getting the word in three guesses than in four. I hadn’t thought of that particular challenge. So when I changed computers a while back, I had to relog in to the NY Times and it started my stats all over again. I thought this was a great chance to give his approach a try.

For a while my 3’s and 4’s were neck in neck. But then I realized, taking the time to be strategic about getting it in three was irritating me. I’d rather go faster and get it in four.

Taking the time to play Wordle is pleasureful, but taking time to think through all the possible combinations to land on the most likely was just unrealistic.

I was chagrined to realize that life had just given me another opportunity to learn to stay in my own lane. The only way I’ve figured out how to be happy playing the game of life is to find my own goals – not try to live up to others.

(featured photo from Pexels)

53 thoughts on “Staying in My Own Lane”

  2. Interesting. We play Wordle every morning with our grown sons and text our results; that’s our connection point! We each have our own way of arriving at the word, from using a new starting word every morning to always using the same first two starting words every morning, no matter what (that’s me!). But neither of our DILs consider this to be an activity they need to join! It sounds like you’re in their camp. You’d like today’s word!! 😊

    Liked by 2 people

  3. I’m that way about Connections (NYT), too.
    But you are right. We are so heavily influenced by others, treating them as if they have it all figured out and all we need to do is follow suit. The well worn path has already been mapped.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Wise discovery Wynne- that whole just be yourself thing 😉 I stopped Wordle long ago when it became not so fun anymore, or perhaps other challenges took precedence? Cruising along in your own lane is never a bad idea.

    Liked by 3 people

  6. this is such a good example and glad you realized how you enjoy it is very different than how he enjoys it, but both are valid approaches. I’m horrible at wordle, but I love connections, for some reason it seems more enjoyable and solvable for me.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. I second what Alegria said. That notion of “running our own race” is helpful to me when I get burdened by the questions of ‘enough’ and find myself pushing too hard. Thank you, Wynne! 💕

    Liked by 3 people

  11. Good example of staying in our own lane. My kids’ swim coach used to tell them at meets they needed to focus on their own lane. They had no control who was showing up in the lanes next to them.

    Liked by 3 people

  12. Succinctly put, Wynne!
    Your post reminded me of my initial annoyance with my forever-changing score per word in my favorite game, Words With Friends. Until I realized that, though the lower score was frustrating, I enjoyed my daily brain exercise, playing with people from different parts of the world, and the challenge of making words from given letters and learning new words.
    Now, I relish the game for what I gain without looking at the score per word.
    Love

    Liked by 1 person

  13. 😃 I like the “own lane” analogy. 

    Driving to some seems a race which seems to me as nonsense; those other drivers are solely focused on themselves and many are aggressively do.

    Since we all have different timelines and destinations – I’ve got the jazz on the radio and I am doing my own thing.
    I like the saying- Be yourself, everyone else is taken. 👍

    Liked by 1 person

  14. I love Wordle! My longest streak was 156 days. I was on another decent streak until a few days ago when I missed the “WAGON”. 😂 I looked at my numbers. I have 264 threes and 372 fours. I use the same starting word every day and don’t dive too much into strategy other than trying to keep a streak going. Overthinking it takes the fun out of it for me.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, what a great streak, Michelle. I wish there was a way to differentiate between when we miss the word and when we skip a day playing. But I’m with you — overthinking takes the fun out of it! Yes!

      Liked by 1 person

  16. I love the Judy Garland quote, and the conclusion you arrived at, Wynne. We have enough irritations in life without setting ourselves up for them. I’ve never played Wordle. It sounds addictive… I think I’ll stay away. Lol

    Liked by 1 person

    1. “We have enough irritations in life without setting ourselves up for them.” Oh, I hadn’t thought of it like that. Brilliant!! Yes! Thanks, Susan!

      Like

  17. Love the Judy Garland quote. 💖 Such a poignant reminder. 👍🏼 But Wynne I love your life lesson…don’t try to live up to other people’s standards for you! Do YOU! Spot on my friend. 😘💞🥰

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Awww Wynne, we both do it brilliantly. We continue to learn as we go and we get even better than before. Cheers to doing what we do best my friend. 😁💞🥰 Hugs and smooches! 💋

        Like

  19. Isn’t it funny how these life lessons come in the most unexpected places? And you thought Wordle was merely a word game.

    Liked by 2 people

  20. Love your conclusion, Wynne. You have to ‘do you!’ That’s the only way to move forward in life. We all different viewpoints, which makes life interesting. But we can still stay in our own lane, like you said. I’ve never played Wordle, but it made for a great blog post.

    Like

  21. My strategy with Wordle is to try to start with words that no one else would think of. Not the standard tried & true choices. Even if it takes me all 6 tries, I feel accomplished because I tackled it differently. I like to get the feedback “no one else faced this scenario”. Silly, I know. But I ‘do me’ by using my own unique approach. And not just in Wordle.

    Like

  22. My only Wordle strategy is to get it in six. Four is fine, three’s even better, but as long as I don’t lose, I’m happy!

    (This is working out pretty well, as I’m currently riding a 450+-game winning streak.)

    Like

  23. Nothing ruins a lovely pastime than bringing in competition or feeling one has to produce results. Sometimes we just need to protect our fun activities.

    Like

  26. I’m smiling as I read that Wordle is still a part of your daily routine. Me too. I also play NYT’s Connections right after. I have a good Wordle story that I’ll share on my next post soon. Total coincidence. 🙂

    I agree with you that when we focus our eyes on our own prize and stop the aimless comparisons, life becomes more focused and lighter!

    Like

  28. You got that right Wynne!!! Staying in our own lane is best, but I have to admit that I challenge myself with wordle everyday. I try to figure it out by the fourth try.

    Like

  29. Pingback: The Case for Non-Competition – Surprised By Joy

Comments are closed.