I love days like this! Busy, busy. Work, work, work. Lunch break. Work, work, work! No time for messing around, sitting around, doing nothing. Filled my gas tank after work. The car was already having trouble starting. Goodness, I push it too far! And driving to the gas station, I thought what my FB status would say. I haven't been too active there lately, but what has the world come to? Thinking about a FB status about something that hasn't even happened yet!
And now, I'll write a little, finish last minute things for tomorrow's leader's meeting in BSF early in the morning, and sleep! One of my clients asked me if I was going on a date tonight. Haha. I wanted to laugh. Well, no dates for me on any Friday nights these days. My Friday nights are not the typical person's Friday nights!
I just can't believe it! A few more weeks and we'll be in the new year! 2012 already!!! And for whatever reason, this month seems like it's going to be a flurry of excitement and so festive! And the Christmas tree is up. Poor tree's been sitting against the fence since after Thanksgiving! Oh, I love trees and can't wait to decorate!
So what do I really want to say?
Excel versus Compete. I put myself under excel. Why? Because what I do has nothing to do with what anybody else is doing. In fact I don't care how someone else does it. I want to do what I do wonderfully because I have a standard and I know what I am capable of. It's not to prove that I am better. It is not to outdo someone else. It's just
how I do it! I believe that if you take away the one next to you, everyone, and just leave yourself with what you're doing, that whatever it is you are doing should be done well, no matter. It's not like, 'oh, no one's watching, I don't have to do this well today'. For some, competing pushes them to farther, to better, because of that competitive spirit. Which, I'm pretty sure is useful that way. If that's what it takes, then so be it. But, that's not how
I work. Setting me up against anyone won't work. That's not what motivates me. And I love it. I do it, first of all, how it should be done, as if it were for me, as it were to be done for Jesus, and then of course because I'm a recovering perfectionist, it's just because I want it to be 'perfect'. (Recovering? Because I've learned to let go, to step away, to say 'it's ok', to not be hard on myself -as much...It's amazing when you get to that point.)
Perhaps you pour coffee. Then pour coffee like no other. Housekeeper? Host? Wiping tables? Working in drive-thru? Cleaning bowls, washing dishes, taking care of others, preaching, leading, mentoring, performing, playing piano, cooking, doing your makeup, your appearance... Nurse, hairdresser, speaker, mother...etc. Be the best you can be in whatever it is. It won't start later when you get to the top. It starts with the smallest things. Weather noticeable or not. And perhaps no one is checking your work, or even sees your work. Or knows that you did that work. Still do it well. It's your name, your face, you. Whatever you do is a reflection of you.
And so, my standards for myself are high. Because I know what I am capable of. Lot's of things affect and play into it, but I want to do great things because that's who I am! Make others happy with your work done well. Make yourself happy.
Don't compete to prove something. Unless it's for yourself. Do it because you just want to do it.
(Why do I talk about competition? Because I've seen it make people bitter, frustrate, hurt...It can be good, but sadly, many times it makes things ugly.)
But, I won't argue if you say, there's competition involved no matter what you say. Because I've been wrong many times, and sometimes that source can be hidden well...
There will always be someone who is better. It doesn't matter what. It's good to be able to acknowledge it. And I love that I can say, that person does it way better. Perhaps learn from them...That's why we have all these different capabilities. One man can't do it all. It's not intended like that. And even if you can, it doesn't mean you should. I love telling myself that! Makes my life simpler. Easier. I choose certain things that I prefer, and let others do what they are good at. And I can say, that person does it well!
I have a lot to learn. And I love that.
Love witnessing all sorts of things. Learning each day!