No 5th Place - Stay off the Clutch!

1 Corinthians 9:24 -- Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.

Don’t settle for mediocrity. One of my struggles has been with progress, on a lot of fronts to be honest. Too often, I’ve been content with “good enough.” I’d set a goal, fail to make the progress I hoped for, and settle for the status quo—or worse, I’d make a little progress and decide that was acceptable. Mediocrity isn’t always a conscious choice; it creeps in gradually, eroding our potential until we’re left with a shadow of who we could be. Every time you tell your kids, “I’m too old to play,” or accept the “dad bod” because you’re in your 30s – 40s, or chalk up joint pain to “just getting older,” you’re letting mediocrity chip away at your life. These moments slowly diminish us into a lesser version of who we’re capable of becoming..

5th place, that’s the way I always saw myself. Hey, at least I competed, at least I wasn’t last. In theory and in reality, I accepted 5th place a lot as being good enough. Striving to be a champion, to get into first place, would take a lot of effort that I usually wasn’t committed to doing. Even 2nd place was that same level, you just made one slip, but 5th place?.. even that was work, it was effort, it was commitment, but not too much. It was a level of comfortable commitment. It was lukewarm commitment. In Revelation 3:16 we are given a clear picture of the value of being lukewarm, What a waste. 5th place mindset is mediocrity in the realest sense. I wasn’t lazy, I wasn’t a nobody, but I was only just committed enough to get a ribbon but not committed enough to really go for the win.

Maybe it’s been out of a fear of failure? By settling for “decent,” I can achieve that comfortably. It’s a mix of complacency and ego whispering, “You’re good enough as you are.” Hebrews 12:1 urges us, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Without risk, there’s no reward. Without effort and commitment, you’ll never break free from mediocrity. For the first 40 years of my life, I was content being slightly above average, never striving for greatness out of fear of failure and a lie of complacency.

So how do we break out of that habit? How do we find the drive to go all in?

 I wish I had a magic solution—a bottle of confidence and drive to share (after taking some myself). It’s not that simple. For me, it took a hard look at who I was, who I was surrounded by, and who I wanted to be. It became clear that hanging around middle-aged guys content with saying, “I’m too old for that,” wasn’t going to get me where I wanted to go. The first step is finding your direction. Without a clear destination, it’s easy to stay stuck, riding the clutch because you don’t know where you’re headed.

Finding your direction doesn’t mean mapping out the next decade—or even the next 10 days. It means knowing what you’re working toward. As Seneca, the Stoic philosopher, said, “If a man knows not to which port he sails, no wind is favorable.” (you’ll figure out that I have a strong connection to Stoic principles.) Find your direction, start moving. This is where we must learn to “stay off the clutch”. Once I get a little momentum and start making a little progress it’s easy to settle back into coasting. “Hey I’m doing better than I was” and there is where we stop. The problem is friction, once you stop pushing then friction takes over and you start to slow down.

Time and time again I would make progress in the direction of my goals and then coast, only to find myself right back where I started (or worse). But that’s the key, you have to keep pushing to keep moving, and to keep pushing you have to break away from the mediocrity mindset, you have to want the win, not be content with “some” progress, you have to abandon the willingness to accept 5th place. You have to actively push to NOT be there, it’s not about hoping you don’t end up there but a commitment to not allow yourself to be. Winning will never come by accident.

I can recall countless times when I rode the clutch out of fear, comfort, or plain laziness. Going fast is hard work; it demands focus, effort, and courage. Settling is easy, safe, and comfortable. In high school wrestling, I took 5th place at the State Championship. I made it to the podium, which was “better than nothing,” or so I told myself. Later, in a brief racing venture, guess my best finish? You got it—5th place. It was pretty good for a beginner, I thought. Being “better than some” was enough. I was content staying slightly above average, never committed to striving for greatness.

What changed? Turning 40 hit me hard. I was surrounded by coworkers who’d accepted dad bods, cholesterol meds, back pain, and dull lives. I hated the idea that this was as good as it gets. Meanwhile, I saw people online thriving—passionate, hardworking, and full of life. They had momentum, speed, something I craved. In my 20s and 30s, I’d start journeys, make progress, but then hit a wall or get complacent, hit the clutch, and coast to a stop. The realization struck: time was ticking, and it wasn’t getting easier. I was tired of flipping through albums of “fat Clint” photos from unfinished journeys, never reaching the “after” shot. I was tired of being an average dad and husband, just a bit better than some. I was done with 5th place.

So here we are, off the clutch and on the gas! Don’t mistake that I have this whole thing figured out, but what I did figure out is to embrace the drive and not only focus on the destination. Even when you get the win and stand on the top of whatever podium you are after, that’s not the end. Keep pushing and growing and striving to be more tomorrow than today. Even back to my wrestling days, I would weigh in and wrestle a weekend and then be 10 lbs overweight on Monday and have to do it over again next week. I wasn’t committed to the idea of being an athlete, just to participating. It was a part time gig, not a commitment. Escaping mediocrity is a lifestyle, a commitment. Remember every time you get on the clutch you will slow down… even if you’re on a downhill section. Be relentless, you have to push into the unknown with vigor and drive.

God doesn’t always reveal the full path—just a nudge in the right direction. We rely on Him day by day in a never-ending pursuit. It’s not about going to church on Sunday and coasting the rest of the week or squeezing in a 10-minute devotional a few mornings. Staying off the clutch in our relationship with Christ means staying on the gas—trusting God controls the course as we tackle the next jump, ridge, or turn with faith. Don’t settle for crossing the finish line or checking off “I tried.” Commit to chasing the win. You might not get the outcome you hope for, and that’s okay. It’s not about obsessing over the win but about being driven to pursue it. Put in the work, stay committed, and trust God with the results. He’s not looking for 5th-place effort. God calls us to a relentless pursuit of righteousness—an “all-in” faith, not a comfortable, mediocre one.

Be driven. Be intentional. Stay off the clutch and focus on pursuing more than just yourself. When your drive is to find God, grow closer to your Savior, and go all in on the faith that fuels your salvation, it’s easier to keep the pedal down.