Why Your Best Isn’t Good Enough

I’m a father of three little kiddos. 8, 6, and 4 at the moment. Parenting has to be one of the greatest joys and frustrations of my life. It’s a weird dichotomy trying to raise up children so they can be successful in the world today.

A common phrase that I hear around my house if something goes wrong or if someone comes home with a bad grade is the all too familiar “I did my best.” Spoken with a long drawn out lilt at the end my children beg forgiveness for their shortcomings with this, the granddaddy of all excuses.

How can you fault a child when they look up at you with those baby blues about to tear up and they speak those four powerful words? For me it’s quite easy. My simple response that phrase is usually the same. “Well, bud, I guess your best wasn’t good enough.”

I know, I’m a total monster! Hear me out though. It’s true in that instant their best wasn’t good enough. The first time they rode a bike they fell. The first month they tried to walk they fell…a lot. The first time they tried to speak it was gibberish. But the more they practiced the better they got. They walked until they ran, then they were on bikes and now they are playing soccer.

Their best got better. Much better! And yours can to.

Saying you did your best relieve you of the responsibility to get better, and we can all get better. With practice and time your best gets better every day. That’s why there are dancers like Mikhail Baryshnikov, golfers like Tiger Woods, doctors like Jonas Salk. None of these men were incredible at their crafts when they were toddlers, or adolescents, or even teenagers. They developed these skills from years or decades of hard work and discipline and so can you.

When you’re best isn’t good enough don’t be discouraged be determined. Make your best better every single day until your best is good enough to accomplish your goals. That’s how greatness is achieved.