January 21, 2001
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One of my philosophies of life is summed up nicely in the following two line poem that I found in an illustrated children’s book of verses years ago.
Be the labor great or small,
Do it well or not at all.
It so closely aligned with my own thinking that I saved it for a long time, and when I had children of my own I framed the little poem and illustration and hung it on my daughter’s wall.
Somewhere along the way though, without even realizing it, I had taken that simple message and changed it into something quite different. I knew the words of the poem word for word, but it now “said” something else to me. It said,
Be the labor great or small,
Similar words, but oh, what a difference. I felt I had to be the best at whatever I did in order to be worthy – to win praise; be it from my parents, my husband or a boss. And it might seem to have been a good motto for me because I’m happily married and have been fairly successful in my career. Maybe not the best, but I have done well.
Be the BEST or don’t try at all.
Thank God, I can honestly say I never held my children to the same unrealistic standard. They didn’t have to be the best; it was enough that they do their best. All I ever wanted for my children was that they grow up to be happy, honest, self sufficient, functioning adults who love the Lord.
So now, I can’t help thinking what else I might have been able to accomplish if I hadn’t limited myself to what I thought I could be BEST at. What else might I have experienced? What else could I have done well at if I hadn’t been unwilling to try because I thought I couldn’t be the best? So lighten up world. Cut youself some slack.
Comments (6)
Great log, Chris. Some food for thought, too. And I learned something about you I didn’t know… Imagine that? I knew you were very conscientious, but I didn’t know to what extent you were a perfectionist.
Wonderful words, especially for someone like me who tends to be self critical as well. It’s also nice to realise that you didn’t hold your children to the same over high standard that you did yourself – it says a lot about you
)
I think I’ll take that motto into the office tomorrow…
Tracey
Thanks! I needed that, and HOWDY from a fellow Texan!
I must say my motto has been similiar, however six years ago life threw me a new challenge that I had not chosen. After some denial and ranting- well, what else was there to do but accept and try to be the best disabled person and show others it could be done with humor.
I never had no trouble not bein’ first in anythin’, even in grammar.
~~~God’s best promise: “I am with you. Do your best and I’ll do the rest.”
~~~However, I must admit, sometimes I don’t even try to do my best (depending upon what it is) I just enjoy the thrill of doing it. In addition, we don’t always have the time to do our best. So I guess I don’t always agree “do it well or don’t do it at all.” Because I wouldn’t have wanted to miss some of the once in a lifetime experiences I’ve had due to the fact I couldn’t do my best. Maybe, for me, a paraphrase serves me well: Do the BEST I can at any given moment…
…L.K.