WHAT IS YOUR BEST?

So, there's this book, Walking Contradiction, you may have heard of it...

Okay, chances are if you're reading this, you've heard of it but take heart, you are a part of a very select group of people in the whole world to know about it. My contribution to the literary world is a challenge to you and I (and everyone else in existence) to do better. 

Yesterday, it didn't feel like a "do better" type of day but I did the best I could for those twenty four hours. There's something funny about doing your best. It's what we ask of ourselves, our family, friends, colleagues and people under our charge.

Do your best.

How can you tell if you're doing that? There's no meter that registers this for us to let us know if we've done our 100% best. What is it exactly?

There are days when we shine brightly and it shows. We're inspired. We work hard and feel very satisfied that our time was spent well. Those are the days that we dream of.  The dream is that every day could be a "best day".

They're not though are they?

In the cold and grey winter months, my best can be just rolling out of bed to take the kids to school. If I managed to load the dishwasher the same day, it was a success. At the time, these days rarely felt like I was doing anything other than mediocre.

If I'm being honest, I was doing as much as I could muster in the belly of the dark beast of depression. On other days (sunny springtime), I can take the kids to school, get the car looked over at the garage, do the dishes and the laundry, sweep and mop the floors, write five pages of a manuscript and a whole bunch of other things.

What's the difference between these two days? Not a single thing.

Every single day is the best that I can offer with what I am able to give.

Here's what I've learned: The best isn't the best when compared to others. It isn't hitting it out of the park everyday. Sometimes our days don't seem to add up to much but to start a new day after them means that we're still alive. That, my friends, is still the best because we chose to keep going. Remember that. Survival just might be your only option for the day. There will be days where it feels like you've reached the pinnacle.  Other times, it's somewhere in between.

Throw away the measuring stick and realize that your best is going to look different every single day and that is perfectly fine.

Why?

Because you're still here. You are still among the rest of us, trying to make it to the next day. Be kind to yourself because it can lead to healing. If your best requires a nap, take a nap. If  you need to stop everything and watch a funny movie, do it and laugh.

My best day might look like an average one to someone else and that's completely okay. I'm not living for someone else. I'm living for me. When that happens, everyone gets a better me over time based on my choice to know what I am capable of in the moment.

Today, you are doing your best. How do I know that? It's really quite simple: You're not giving up and that is the best that any one of us can ever hope to do.