Why Are You Running?

The Psychology of Running Without Knowing Why 

Whew. Just one week of not writing to you and I genuinely felt it. It’s funny how you can miss people you’ve never even seen, just because you’re used to sharing thoughts with them. Anyway, I’m back. And I have gist.

So last Sunday, on our way back from church, something happened that left me thinking for hours.

You know that soft Sunday mood; everybody is relaxed, some people still discussing the sermon, some already planning what to eat when they get home. In my head, it was already Sunday rice and stew. Traffic was slow, but it was Lagos slow. Nothing dramatic. We were moving in that classic snail pace.

Then suddenly, from nowhere:

“Open the door! Open the door! We need to run!”

You should have seen how everybody’s head turned at once.

Run? To where?

The woman was seated close to the door and she was frantic. Pointing behind us. Saying people were running. Saying we needed to get down immediately.

Of course we all turned to look. Yes, people were running. Yes, there was smoke. But it wasn’t close. Cars were still moving. Nobody was screaming. Nothing was near enough to justify jumping out of a bus into traffic and sprinting like our lives depended on it.

But the fear she projected was loud and the panic is contagious. However, the person by the door didn’t open it. Everyone was confused. Then the woman’s panic escalated.

That was when I asked her calmly, “What exactly is happening?”

She said, “Can’t you see the smoke? People are running!”

So I asked her again, “If you get down now, where exactly are you running to?”

Because let’s think about it. If something was truly chasing people from behind, wouldn’t it catch up faster with people on foot? Are human legs faster than vehicles now?

Besides, I’m not an athlete. I didn’t plan to start Olympic trials that Sunday after church.

Someone suggested we ask two ladies who had just run past our bus. When we called them and asked what was going on, do you know what they said? They didn’t know.

They just saw people running… and decided to run too. And when people stopped running, they stopped too.

I wish you saw my face.

A few minutes later, we found out the real issue. A fuel station several bus stops away had caught fire. That was the smoke.

The fire was real. But the fear? It had travelled faster than the flames.

And that’s when it hit me.

Isn’t this exactly how many of us live? Everybody Is Running.

How many times have we run in life without truly understanding what we’re running from?

We leave relationships because “everybody says it’s not safe.”

We quit businesses because “the economy is bad.”

We panic when we see others making certain moves.

We compare our timelines and start sprinting.

We see smoke and immediately assume it’s our fire.

But pause and ask yourself:

Did you verify the situation or did you just inherit someone else’s fear?

Sometimes the loudest voice in the room is not the wisest one. It’s just the most afraid. And fear has a way of sounding urgent.

Panic Feels Logical But Is It? 

Let me be honest. The woman in the bus wasn’t wicked. She genuinely thought she was helping. In her mind, she was trying to save everyone.

But panic without understanding is dangerous.

Because when you move without clarity, you can create chaos where there wasn’t one.

Imagine if that door had opened. In traffic, on a busy road. People jumping down blindly. Running into cars. All because nobody paused long enough to ask questions.

Sometimes the real danger is not the situation, it’s the reaction.

Panic spreads faster than fire. And in this age of social media, bad news, and constant noise, we are always one headline away from running.

So, before you run, ask yourself

When next you feel that sudden urge to react, to quit, to confront, to move, to run; pause.

Ask:

What exactly is happening?

Do I have facts or assumptions?

Is this threat immediate, or does it just look dramatic?

If I move now, where am I actually moving to?

Because movement is not the same thing as progress and speed is not the same thing as wisdom.

Sometimes strength looks like stillness.

Sometimes maturity looks like asking questions when everyone else is shouting.

Yes, sometimes there is real fire.

Yes, sometimes running is necessary. But wisdom is knowing the difference.

Distance changes perspective. When something looks huge from afar, it might not even be close enough to harm you. And sometimes, what feels catastrophic is just uncomfortable.

There’s a difference. And if we don’t learn to pause, we will spend our lives reacting instead of responding.

Running instead of reasoning.

Following instead of thinking.

So yeah, that Sunday, nobody ran.

We stayed in the bus. We asked questions. We got clarity.

And we got home safely to eat our Sunday rice. At least, I did.

But the lesson stayed with me.

The next time life shows you smoke — in your career, your relationships, your finances, your faith, don’t let fear make decisions for you.

Pause, breathe, ask, then move.

And please, don’t start training for a marathon because everybody else is sprinting.

You just might be running from something that was never chasing you.