I'm a coach. And sometimes what I see and experience makes me think, "Is it all about winning and losing? Is that the greatest purpose of what I do? Or of sports?" Maybe it's about giving your very best. If you believe that God created you, don't you think you owe it to Him to give your best? Even if you don't believe that, don't you at least owe it to yourself? I don't remember the times I won or lost so much as the times I gave it my all or just gave up...
What's your motivation? Why do you do anything? Satisfaction? Glory? Reward? Whether God allows you to be successful or not, He deserves to be praised either way!
Ask one thing of yourself. Give your very best every day. When you fail to do that you are letting yourself down, and possibly others around you. Win or lose you can't expect any more from yourself than your very best effort. When you've given your best, that alone is something to be proud of. Never give up! Press on toward the goal!
4 comments:
I don't think you should always do your best. (The key word here is always) Let me explain. One, there is almost always room for improvement, always something else you could do. How good is your best? With your track athletes for instance, at some point they quit working out and move onto other activities, other good activities. studies for instance.
I would liken it to propelling a vehicle. The best millage to speed ratio is 55mph. After that you can go faster, but it will cost you. And so it is with "giving your best" you can but it will cost you, often time, time that could be used on something better.
I won't bore you here, but I can think of many things that I didn't want to do, things that when I was done, left room for improvement. Why? because there were better things to do.
Some things are pass/fail. You don't need to always strive for an A. (which is not to say you should never strive for an A)
That's all fine Dave, but yours is a question of priorities. My comments are geared towards someone who has already made that decision, whether it be a workout or a competition. Once you have decided to use your time for that activity it only makes sense that you should give your very best. Also, I'm not asking for perfection, I'm asking for your best effort on any given occasion. Yes their will be room for improvement, but that has nothing to do with someone deciding to give the best effort that they can on that given day. And your comment about not always striving for an A? That's weak. I'll quote a track & field legend. "To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift" - Steve Prefontaine
I hear what your saying about giving your all on a project you have chosen. And your right to talk about priorities. I guess were coming at this from two different angles.
Some things are different than others. For many of the activities I am involved in there is a direct correlation between time and excellence. School projects, and work projects being two of those.
I have often chosen to call it a day and turn in a A- paper because I have better things to do. (yes, sometimes this is actually true, and sometimes it is an excuse)
Prefontaine's quote is representative of a broader American ideal, often called the protestant work ethic, which stems from a theology that everything, including work, should be done to the glory of God. (John Calvin and others) On paper I agree with this, but I feel strongly about what happens when this good idea goes too far. Hence my concern over as you say, priorities.
I really believe, and I think you'll agree, that our priorities are pretty screwed up in this country. (i.e. workaholics/latch key kids) Part of that problem comes from an over-competitive nature, and a desire not to "sacrifice a gift" which on the good side has propelled this country beyond all others by some measurements, (economic) but at what cost? (spiritual/ethical)
At the end of the day I'm not saying your original post was wrong. All I'm saying is that you should not always give your best.
I do like the part about it not always being about winning and losing
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