I remember when I played sports, regularly, I would always hear the coaches say things like, “Go hard or go home!” or “Give 110%” (because that’s possible). No matter what the phrase was, it was always implying this basic concept, “Give it your all!”
The fact of the matter is, at times I didn’t want to. If I saw someone who was bigger, or faster, I would step back and wonder, “Is it worth it?”. I can go hard. I can give 110%. The question was, would I still achieve my ultimate goal. If the odds seemed against me, my willingness to give more than 80% dwindled.
I’m not proud to say that. I wish I could say I always went hard. I just couldn’t. There were many times I stepped up to the challenge, but far too often, I shut down at the first sign of adversity.
At one time, I found myself doing the same thing as an adult. As I wrote books, I looked at other successful authors and think, “Well, they are famous, they will sell more, why should I try?”. As I began to pastor a church, I found myself looking at other pastors thinking, “Well, they have a nice building and a bunch of money, how can I match up? I can’t. So, why should I keep going?”
Again, not proud to say it, but this was a reality. Many of you reading have possibly held this same view. The struggle is real, so why struggle?
I have done a workout that had a trainer use the phrase, “Do your best, and forget the rest.” The problem was, my best wasn’t his best, so I would quit before I realized what my best really was.
I have come to realize that I have been trying to give my all, if it fit with the “all” of others. Does that make sense? Basically, I am comparing myself, and failing miserably.
I now have embraced the idea, that I need to give MY all, not someone else’s. I cannot expect to match up to people who have been doing things for a longer period of time than I have, or live in a different context than me. I cannot base my success on the success of another. I have to do what I can do, to achieve my best performance. My best, is MY best.
I will celebrate the best of others, but not define myself based on their success. We need to celebrate the success of others. It actually should only push us to be better. Not to match up to them, but for ourselves to achieve the best we can achieve.
[tweetshare tweet= “We need to celebrate the success of others. It actually should only push us to be better. Not to match up to them, but for ourselves to achieve the best we can achieve.”]
You need to give it YOUR all. It is not about how good another person is. It is not about the success they are achieving. It is about how good YOU are doing. It is about you being satisfied with your results. Not allowing yourself to fall back when the first sign of adversity comes your way.
[tweetshare tweet= “It is about you being satisfied with your results. Not allowing yourself to fall back when the first sign of adversity comes your way.”]
There will always be someone better, someone stronger, someone cuter, someone braver, someone smarter, and the list can go on and on. So, don’t try to be that person, just try to be the better, stronger, braver, smarter, and secure YOU!
That’s all we can give.
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