Have you ever caught yourself trying to be the absolute best at everything you do? Don't get me wrong - it's awesome to be striving for excellence. But I was reminded today that there is no need to be wonderful at EVERYTHING.
I tried playing soccer when I was younger. Didn't work out. I tried to be a gymnast. Just like my soccer experience, I did not become a master at it. I tried playing the trumpet. I did not make the most beautiful sounds, to say the least. When I was younger, I think it was easier to move on from these realizations that some things just weren't my thing to be proficient in. I could pick myself up and move on to some other activity. I'd be fine. So what has changed in me, now that I'm older, that makes me feel like a failure when I can't be "the best" at something?
We're taught that we need to be a "jack of all trades." Society promotes this idea that whatever you set out to do, you have to be perfect at it the first time. I don't know about you, but I have bought into that lie at times. I think it's a great idea to be well-rounded, and I love learning about new things. That has been one of my most favorite parts of college - the chance to expand my knowledge about things that I haven't really been exposed to before. It's great to have a learning mindset, but we can't let it control our lives. There come times when we have to be content with the skills and the knowledge we have. We don't have to be able to run a mile in under 10 minutes, understand every concept there is to know about chemistry, and play Flight of the Bumblebees at 200 bpm. It's okay to have a weak spot.
It's okay to have a weak spot, and it's okay to expose it. There's no need for shame when we've met someone that can do something better than we can. There's no need for competition just so we can feel better about ourselves. We're not failures. We're different. There are unique passions and skills in us that they don't have, I betcha! Accepting our weaknesses can help us better appreciate others' strengths. We're invited into a rich and vibrant Earth when we can start truly appreciating, and stop trying to compete with, others' gifts. Not to mention, we're going to be a lot less frazzled and frustrated when we learn to let go and focus on honing in on the things we are meant to be incredibly amazing at!
There's no need to be wonderful at everything. Learn and improve, but always remember this: each one of us is absolutely wonderful at SOMETHING!
