?

“I’m trying to do my best.” “Is that the best you can do?” “Do your best.” “My best just isn’t good enough.” Sound familiar? I think “best” is overrated, misunderstood, or maybe it’s just semantics.

What is your best? What is my best? If I’m not doing something as good or better today than yesterday does that mean I’m not doing my best and therefore I’m failing today? How can I know what my best really is?

Your best or my best is what we are doing at this very moment; that’s our best, whatever it is, whatever level of achievement it may measure. Even if you find yourself in the lousiest of moods, and consequently doing absolutely nothing, you are still doing the best you can at that moment, even if its pretty unimpressive! In fact, our best at a given moment may be totally out of bounds, but it is simply where we are at that given moment.

Too often, we inadvertently confuse our “best” with excellence. Then, when we measure poorly against our perceived bar of excellence, we feel disappointed; we’ve failed; we haven’t done our best. Our achievement today may not be equal to our potential, but nonetheless we’re still doing the best we can today.

Are You Passionate?

Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with passion and desire to excel. But care must be taken that our standards for excellence don’t become more important than our own peace and contentment. But no matter where we are in our endeavors, we really are doing the best we can at that moment.

Now, If I’m not satisfied with my performance in a given area, there are steps I can take to elevate and achieve higher results. It’s called self improvement, self development, goals, or any number of related synonyms. Tracking one’s progress is very helpful in measuring desired improvement; I’ve done that in a number of areas of my life over the years.

Not reaching a desired goal or milestone in the time we thought we should can be disappointing and frustrating at times. But always remember that wherever you are, you really are doing your best at that moment. And your best will fluctuate as a result of moods, circumstances, thoughts you’re thinking, etc.

In Those Frustrating Times…

In those times of frustration and disappointment, it is comforting to know we can turn to God who does not change, in whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning. In other words, God’s best is always pure excellence and it never changes! And He is the the One who said we should cast all our cares on Him because He cares for us.

In the coming year we may face challenges when our best doesn’t seem to be enough. In those times, find what you need to do to improve your game, and call upon Him for help, guidance, and direction. “And whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.”

Mike Verdicchio
2015

Comments?
Do you have some thoughts about this? We’d love to hear what you think. Just scroll to the bottom of this post and type in your comment. (If you are receiving this post via email or RSS, just click the title above and then scroll to the bottom of the post and type in your comment.)

You Might Also Enjoy:
Moving Forward
Did You Set Your Sails This Morning? (Video)
God Is Not In Charge (Podcast)

Share This!
Do you want to share this on your website or Blog? To share on social media, like Facebook or Twitter, there are buttons below.

There’s More!
For past articles, click on the, “Posts” tab above. For past videos and podcasts, mouse over the “Posts” tab above. Look for more videos as well as more podcasts coming soon to Confidence And Joy!

Follow Me On Twitter!