When your best isn’t good enough
I find there are some competing forces on us in the West, mostly at our workplaces, but also in our families.
We are expected most of the time to do our best: to make the most of our abilities and to do our tasks as best we can.
At the same time, our supervisors and maybe spouses or children have expectations of us. Often in our jobs there is little room for failure and expectations tend to increase, especially if you want to be considered for raises or promotions. The pressure to perform is great.
Do many of us have fear then, deep down, that even though we do our best, it just simply won’t be good enough? That no matter how hard I try, not matter how much time I put into something, it won’t be enough.
I’ll admit I’m afraid of this. I think for most of my life so far, my best was very good, and I tricked myself into thinking it was good enough. Yet, I feared that it wasn’t so I’d try harder.
Is there a way out of this?
The other day as I was reflecting on this and also on my increasing awareness that my flaws do and will continue to make it that my best will not be good enough, I understood just a bit that this is what grace is about. Grace is being loved and accepted when what we do isn’t good enough. And also when I am not good enough.
I’m going to have to keep reminding myself of this, because this seems like an incredibly freeing understanding.
Comments(1)
Mmmm … great post. I definitely struggle with this and have for my whole life! As a “gifted” student, I always felt that if I brought home a grade less than an A, it wasn’t good enough, even if I had tried my hardest. In piano, I hated not ranking at the music festivals. When I went to University and began getting low marks, I switched out of my program – mind you, I didn’t specifically drop out because of my grades, but they were definitely a deciding factor! I thought that maybe it would change in becoming a mom, but it hasn’t … in fact, I’d say it’s worse. It’s a constant guilt game!