--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In whatever kind of a “race” life may be…" description: "\"“In whatever kind of a “race” life may be, I have very abruptly become a finalist.”\" — Christopher Hitchens" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/christopher-hitchens-117_life_in-whatever-kind-of-a-race-life-may-be-i_1128480.jpg" --- # In whatever kind of a “race” life may be, I have very… ![“In whatever kind of a “race” life may be, I have very abruptly become a finalist.” quote by Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/christopher-hitchens-117_life_in-whatever-kind-of-a-race-life-may-be-i_1128480.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/christopher-hitchens-117_life_in-whatever-kind-of-a-race-life-may-be-i_1128480.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/christopher-hitchens-117_life_in-whatever-kind-of-a-race-life-may-be-i_1128480.jpg) > ““In whatever kind of a “race” life may be, I have very abruptly become a finalist.”” [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life’s competition can feel sudden, thrusting one into a finalist position unexpectedly. **In simple terms:** Life can suddenly make you a finalist. Key Takeaway Stay prepared for unexpected challenges. Themes competition life unexpected Mood inspirational motivational Type philosophical personal When to use this quote - career advancement - sports - creative projects - personal development Key Concepts personal growth resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle sudden competition? - What prepares you for unexpected finals? A Different Perspective Not everyone thrives under sudden pressure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [My father had died, and very swiftly, too, of cancer of the esophagus. He was 79. I am 61. In whatever kind of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/my-father-had-died-and-very-swiftly-too-of-cancer-of-the-esophagus-he/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Golden Heart finalist in the prestigious RWA writing contest. Finalist in the International Digital Awards Semi-finalist in the Best Indie Books of 2012. A featured”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-ayers/golden-heart-finalist-in-the-prestigious-rwa-writing-contest-finalist/) E. Ayers > [I was a finalist for the Pulitzer as a reporter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-scheer/i-was-a-finalist-for-the-pulitzer-as-a-reporter/) [Robert Scheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-scheer/) > [Being named as a finalist for the USA Basketball National Team is an unbelievable feeling and an opportunity that is truly humbling. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-harden/being-named-as-a-finalist-for-the-usa-basketball-national-team-is-an/) [James Harden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-harden/) > [The first think I did when I found out I was a finalist, was, I don't remember, because it felt like it was an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-durbin/the-first-think-i-did-when-i-found-out-i-was-a-finalist-was-i-don-t/) [James Durbin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-durbin/) > [Anytime you play a finalist it's going to be a challenge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-nash/anytime-you-play-a-finalist-it-s-going-to-be-a-challenge/) [Steve Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-nash/) > [As soon as I learned that I was a finalist, it was no question in my mind that I was going to put myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myron-rolle/as-soon-as-i-learned-that-i-was-a-finalist-it-was-no-question-in-my/) [Myron Rolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myron-rolle/) > [Hand in hand we run the race of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jhayojezz/hand-in-hand-we-run-the-race-of-life/) [Jhayojezz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jhayojezz/) > [There's no guarantees in anything you do. But I hope there are many more weekends I can race in my life, and high school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chase-elliott/there-s-no-guarantees-in-anything-you-do-but-i-hope-there-are-many/) [Chase Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chase-elliott/) > [“Your race against life must yield effort for you to be productive”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/your-race-against-life-must-yield-effort-for-you-to-be-productive/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [“In the race of life I would rather to be around the best and sink than to be around mediocrity and swim.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xela-ffonrims/in-the-race-of-life-i-would-rather-to-be-around-the-best-and-sink/) Xela Ffonrims > [In the Bible, the race of life is never considered from the viewpoint of speed... We are to run it with patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/in-the-bible-the-race-of-life-is-never-considered-from-the-viewpoint/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [Help others in their race of life. Remember that when you help another up a mountain, you are a little nearer the top yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/help-others-in-their-race-of-life-remember-that-when-you-help-another/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [If you want to win anything - a race, yourself, your life - you have to go a little berserk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-sheehan/if-you-want-to-win-anything-a-race-yourself-your-life-you-have-to-go/) [George A. Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-sheehan/) > [He who starts behind in the great race of life must forever remain behind or run faster than the man in front.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-e-mays/he-who-starts-behind-in-the-great-race-of-life-must-forever-remain/) [Benjamin E. Mays](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-e-mays/) ## More by Christopher Hitchens > [“The spirit of our accurate and exact philosophy is outraged by conclusions that contradict each other so glaringly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-spirit-of-our-accurate-and-exact-philosophy-is-outraged-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“Many governments employ torture but this was the first time that the element of Saturnalia and pornography in the process had been made so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/many-governments-employ-torture-but-this-was-the-first-time-that-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ It's \[Los Angeles\] mostly full of nonsense and delusion and egomania. They think they'll be young and beautiful forever, even though most of them… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-los-angeles-mostly-full-of-nonsense-and-delusion-and-egomania/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [To be against rationalization is not the same as to be opposed to reasoning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/to-be-against-rationalization-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-opposed-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [ \[Religion\] attacks us in our deepest integrity - the core of our self-respect. Religion says that we would not know right from wrong, we… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/religion-attacks-us-in-our-deepest-integrity-the-core-of-our-self/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“In the very recent past, we have seen the Church of Rome befouled by its complicity with the unpardonable sin of child rape, or,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-the-very-recent-past-we-have-seen-the-church-of-rome-befouled-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's surprising to me how many of my friends send Christmas cards, or holiday cards, including my atheist and secular friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-surprising-to-me-how-many-of-my-friends-send-christmas-cards-or/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Suppose there were groups of secularists at hospitals who went round the terminally ill and urged them to adopt atheism: 'Don't be a mug…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/suppose-there-were-groups-of-secularists-at-hospitals-who-went-round/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“It isn’t so long since a test of Anglican orthodoxy was applied to anyone seeking to study or teach at Oxford and Cambridge universities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-isn-t-so-long-since-a-test-of-anglican-orthodoxy-was-applied-to/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Gullibility and credulity are considered undesireable qualities in every department of human life - except religion ... Why are we praised by godly men…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/gullibility-and-credulity-are-considered-undesireable-qualities-in/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's much worse to see a woman drunk than a man: I don't know quite why this is true but it just is. Don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-much-worse-to-see-a-woman-drunk-than-a-man-i-don-t-know-quite/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [It's true that obscenity is a matter of taste and in the eye of the beholder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/it-s-true-that-obscenity-is-a-matter-of-taste-and-in-the-eye-of-the/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I worked out early on to give up things I couldn't do well at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/i-worked-out-early-on-to-give-up-things-i-couldn-t-do-well-at-all/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Writing is what's important to me, and anything that helps me do that - or enhances and prolongs and deepens and sometimes intensifies argument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/writing-is-what-s-important-to-me-and-anything-that-helps-me-do-that/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) [Explore all 1,241 Christopher Hitchens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) ## More Life quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life works most perfectly when a reciprocal love relationship is in place between man and God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/life-works-most-perfectly-when-a-reciprocal-love-relationship-is-in/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [“There's more to life than you can see. Your sight is limited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-kling/there-s-more-to-life-than-you-can-see-your-sight-is-limited/) [Tammy Kling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-kling/) > [“I've spent much of my life calling my intuition "something wrong with me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-l-lawlis/i-ve-spent-much-of-my-life-calling-my-intuition-something-wrong-with/) Deanna L. Lawlis > [When you do things they're absolutely right at that time for you and it can always teach you something about yourself. You can take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kym-marsh/when-you-do-things-they-re-absolutely-right-at-that-time-for-you-and/) [Kym Marsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kym-marsh/) > [The only people who think the Internet is a calamity are people whose lives have been hurt by it; the only people who insist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/the-only-people-who-think-the-internet-is-a-calamity-are-people-whose/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [The one thing that I keep learning over and over again is that I don't know nothing. I mean, that's my life lesson.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwayne-johnson/the-one-thing-that-i-keep-learning-over-and-over-again-is-that-i-don/) [Dwayne Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwayne-johnson/) > [“THIS tale of my sore-troubled life I write,    To thank the God of nature, who conveyed    My soul to me, and with such care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-tale-of-my-sore-troubled-life-i-write-to-thank-the-god-of-nature/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The future is only an indifferent void no one cares about, but the past is filled with life, and its countenance is irritating, repellent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milan-kundera/the-future-is-only-an-indifferent-void-no-one-cares-about-but-the/) [Milan Kundera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milan-kundera/) > [Two things revolutionised life: moving to the countryside and falling in love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-love/two-things-revolutionised-life-moving-to-the-countryside-and-falling/) [Nick Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-love/) > [But just remember, life without me would be even more unbearable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/but-just-remember-life-without-me-would-be-even-more-unbearable/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) [Browse all 265,290 Life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In whatever kind of a “race” life may be, I have very abruptly become a finalist.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hitchens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-whatever-kind-of-a-race-life-may-be-i-have-very-abruptly-become-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-whatever-kind-of-a-race-life-may-be-i-have-very-abruptly-become-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/christopher-hitchens-117_life_in-whatever-kind-of-a-race-life-may-be-i_1128480.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/christopher-hitchens-117_life_in-whatever-kind-of-a-race-life-may-be-i_1128480.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8cb/christopher-hitchens-117_life_in-whatever-kind-of-a-race-life-may-be-i_1128480.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In whatever kind of a “race” life may be, I have very abruptly become a finalist.” — Christopher Hitchens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christopher Hitchens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“In whatever kind of a “race”...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-whatever-kind-of-a-race-life-may-be-i-have-very-abruptly-become-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/in-whatever-kind-of-a-race-life-may-be-i-have-very-abruptly-become-a/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```