One word that comes to mind when I read this quote is
competition
.
Nowadays, everywhere you look, there’s competition to be the next best thing. People compete about looks, the amount of money in the bank, the size of the ring, the amount of followers one has on social media. We even compete with our family members. The list goes on. We’ve become so caught up with trying to meet everyone else’s expectations that we fail to be authentic.
“If only I could make more money, then they’ll notice me. If only I drove a nicer car. If only I had a nicer body, a flatter stomach. Maybe if I said yes to everything they asked of me, they’d promote me. Maybe if I looked the part, they’d respect me.”
We have become so miserable and depleted, always wanting but never having. We don’t go the extra mile because it’s in us to be the very best. Instead we go the extra mile so people could put us on a pedestal and sing our praises. Our “best” has unfortunately become dependent on the likes, shares, subscriptions, the number of followers, views and comments we have. We could be better, yet we settle for the second rate version of who we could be.
But if we are being completely fair, not all of us have fallen into that way of life. There are some of you out there that truly put your best foot forward each time around. And for that, I stand in your corner and I genuinely cheer you on! I know there have been times where it seemed that your best was never good enough, but here you are - still standing. You didn’t allow the naysayers to get to you. You didn’t allow the competition to cloud your vision. You pushed through on a daily and gave it your all, with or without a support system.
So don’t beat yourself up any longer when things don’t go according to plan. Look in the mirror each day and let your reflection be your only competition.
Because at the end of the day, YOUR best is
always
good enough.