Be the best.
Be your best.
At first glance these statements don't seem all that different. Take a moment, however and really look at them. Be the best vs. be your best.
I've always wanted to excel; to be the best. Whether it was getting the best grades, running the fastest, or lasting the longest, I wanted to be it. That's just the way it was, but as I found out, you can never be the best at everything and most times there will be someone better than you. Life is too short to master everything.
I grew up hiking with my dad. Ever since I was little, I wanted to hike the 46 high peaks in NY state to become a member of the somewhat elite, 46-er club. I'm kind of an all-or-nothing gal, so if I was going to hike it meant that I wanted to be the best hiker ever and hike not only the forty-six high peaks, but also Rainier, Washington and someday Everest.
Hold.the.phone. What?
What began as friendly family time hikes turned into my own personal need to climb Everest? Where did that come from? Like I said, I'm competitive. Doing well isn't enough, I have to perform the best.
There is a difference between being "the best" and "your best". I'm not called to be the best in everything I do; I'm called to perform at MY best. In hiking, my personal best might be to finish just one more hike--not necessarily to climb Everest. Actually, I can tell you right now I am not called to climb Everest. No really. Won't happen. In my mothering I am called to be the best mother I can be, but MY best mothering isn't supposed to look like your best mothering. Doing my best might consist of taking all the kids out for McDonald's once a week so I can maintain my sanity while your best mothering might be never allowing your children to eat McDonald's.
The point I'm making is that we don't need to feel guilty when our best doesn't look the same as someone else's best because frankly, the gauge by which we measure our success is held by God, not us.
I've always wanted to excel; to be the best. Whether it was getting the best grades, running the fastest, or lasting the longest, I wanted to be it. That's just the way it was, but as I found out, you can never be the best at everything and most times there will be someone better than you. Life is too short to master everything.
I grew up hiking with my dad. Ever since I was little, I wanted to hike the 46 high peaks in NY state to become a member of the somewhat elite, 46-er club. I'm kind of an all-or-nothing gal, so if I was going to hike it meant that I wanted to be the best hiker ever and hike not only the forty-six high peaks, but also Rainier, Washington and someday Everest.
Hold.the.phone. What?
What began as friendly family time hikes turned into my own personal need to climb Everest? Where did that come from? Like I said, I'm competitive. Doing well isn't enough, I have to perform the best.
There is a difference between being "the best" and "your best". I'm not called to be the best in everything I do; I'm called to perform at MY best. In hiking, my personal best might be to finish just one more hike--not necessarily to climb Everest. Actually, I can tell you right now I am not called to climb Everest. No really. Won't happen. In my mothering I am called to be the best mother I can be, but MY best mothering isn't supposed to look like your best mothering. Doing my best might consist of taking all the kids out for McDonald's once a week so I can maintain my sanity while your best mothering might be never allowing your children to eat McDonald's.
The point I'm making is that we don't need to feel guilty when our best doesn't look the same as someone else's best because frankly, the gauge by which we measure our success is held by God, not us.
What is one area in which YOUR best looks
different than THE best?
