Far Behind, I’m First

Informant first heard this proverb from his business partner back in the nineties. Since then, he has passed along this saying to his own children. It is important to him because it’s something he tries to live by and it brings back good memories of this period in his life. The proverb goes like this: “I’m so far behind I think I’m first.” It means that the subject matter is behind and he is being lapped, so there’s pressure to keep up and to get metaphorically faster. This parallels anything in our lives we feel we are not well suited towards, things we wish we could improve on. He uses this proverb with his children to make them feel more compelled to try harder in life and to work diligently to avoid feeling like they’re in last place.