May 20, 2010
“Our character is not judged by our best performance, but by our best performance in our worst of times and conditions.”
I hate to admit when I am not operating at 100% and have no good reason for it. But I know the reason. It’s because I am human. For the record, I don’t have many times when I am challenged to move ahead with vigor. I think I live most of my life with a lot of energy. So in the moments when I feel stuck in peanut butter it’s good to admit it - and find a good piece of toast!
I know every challenge is handled not by leaps and bounds but by thousands of small steps. I also realize we can never know in advance which specific steps were pivotal in the outcome of our actions. But I suspect this much. My few steps in the peanut butter tend to be more important to the outcome than the hundreds or thousands taken with ease.
Anyone can perform at their best on their best day. And I have been fortunate to have many more better than worse days. Many are less fortunate. Regardless, I believe that what we do – ANYTHING we do – during the worst of our times contributes far more than what we do at our best. I have learned far more from failure than success and from hardship than from ease.
Songwriter Barry McGuire said it well in the 1970s:
“I walked a mile with pleasure, she chattered all the way
“Leaving me none the wiser with all she had to say.
“I walked a mile with sorrow, and never a word said she
“But oh, the things I learned from her, when sorrow walked with me.”
EVERY step counts!
Keep moving.