When we were little, how many times were we told to, “save your best for last!” by our parents, coaches or teachers? Nothing is more dramatic than hitting a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning, right? People lose interest if it is not interesting…or so we have come to believe. But we can’t wait!
And we shouldn’t!
How many of us have been in a situation where we knew we could give more, but held back because in the back of our minds, we were thinking, “Hold on…wait…wait…I have to save my best for last?” It doesn’t happen! Guided by instinct, we are compelled to give everything we have NOW…in THIS moment. But sometimes, that is not what happens. We quit and give up long before we really should. Doubt and fear of failure starts to take over and begins to change everything we believe. Do you want to know why this happens?
I thought you might…
We don’t understand the concept of time. None of us really do. We forget that our time on Earth is not something that ends on a particular day…we never know when our “last” is. And that is our paradox — if we don’t know how much time we have, then how do we save our best for last? Because we never know when it will be our last…our last anything. You know it as much as I do that we have all been in situations where we have thought about it later — wishing we had given more…given our best. But we held back, like we were saving it for something. What are we saving it for? Do we ever remember a few days down the road and say to ourselves, “Hey, you know what…I have a little something extra back here that I saved from last week that I can use now?” NO!!!! None of us ever do! We reserve the ability to give more and save it — whatever “it” is. We decide to keep something, just in case. If we openly admit that we keep hold onto things for a “rainy” day, but never pull them out on that “rainy day”, then we must have a ton of things that we can and should use right now. Right? Are we going to look forward to feeling better when it is later? For some of us, we need the now to get us through to the later. And that means not saving anything.
Here is a question for you… have you ever heard the phrase, “He died doing what he loved.” or “She wouldn’t have had it any other way.” We all have. I have never heard anyone say that someone passed away doing something they hated. Have you? It doesn’t happen. Although those people who have lost their lives doing what they love, they never knew it was their “last” — as far as they were concerned, it was their “now.” And maybe those of us that are left behind should be reminded of living life to the fullest — giving our best NOW, and not waiting for later.
What do your dreams look like? What would you do if you weren’t afraid? What gives you freedom? What can you do?
Life moves along at its own pace, regardless of how much we try to speed up or slow it down. We have no control over it. But, we do have chances to do our best with it. We can sit and mope around, living every day like the one before that. We can believe the same things we have always believed because that is just the way it is. We can judge others with negativity and criticism. And if that is your best, then keep at it. But chances are it isn’t. You know it and I know it.
But most of us do not fit in the above category. Most of us give a little at church, give a few cans to the local pantry, and even volunteer to help at the school carnival. And that is enough. Or is it? There are moments when we are forced to give more because someone requires it of us. But what happens if no one requires it, but us? We never meet our true potential. We never tests our limits. We never grow. There is no limit on potential. None.
No leftovers!
I refuse to save anything for later…to take my best home in a doggie bag, thinking I will get to it later. We should have no leftovers by the end of the day. We should have spent everything we have. If I gave you $1,000.00 today and told you to spend it any way you wanted to, with no guarantee that you could save any of it to be used later, you would spend all $1,000.00. And what if this opportunity was given to you every day? Some may spend it on things they need or want and some would give some away. The point is that we don’t keep something we aren’t sure will be there tomorrow.
After you are done reading this, you will do one of two things. You will get through the words and let the meaning and underlying messages just roll off you like water on the duck’s back. None of it sticks. You think it doesn’t apply to you. You pass it off to the other guy, paying no mind how this affects you. Or, you will decide to stop saving your best for last and start living your best now. RIGHT NOW. You will commit to living your full life today because that may be all you have left. Myself included! Are you showing us your best? Your absolute best? Quit saving it for later…because later may never come. And if tomorrow never comes, wouldn’t you want people to remember that you did your best all the time?
Give us your best right now…because we deserve that. No excuses. No doubt. No fear. Stop waiting. It Starts Today.
Michelle A. Homme 2014 ©
