Despite Your Best Efforts

Despite your best efforts, things just don’t work out sometimes.

You can give it everything you’ve got,

Have all your hopes and dreams on the line

All your expectations mapped out

And still, things don’t quite turn out how you wanted or needed them to.

But here’s the catch –

Was it really your best effort though?

Too often we complain how let down we feel, how the world is stacked against us

Too often we’ve given up before we’ve even started, convinced that we’ve somehow reached our limit.

But you’d be surprised what you’re capable of if you really gave life a shot!

Not pretend to give it a shot

Not convince yourself that you’ve given it a shot

Not divorced from reality about the actual effort you’ve put in.

Because I’m not talking about ‘plenty of effort’, I’m talking about your BEST effort.

Can you really rest your head on the pillow at night knowing that you’ve used every ounce of your energy, mind, body, skill and your humanity, to live, not a good day, but the best possible day given your circumstances?

Life, if nothing else, is about giving it everything you’ve got.

To bring your talents to the world

To let your spirit shine through

To be fully human and the best you can be in every situation

And should things ‘not work out’ as intended, despite your best efforts

Then so be it.

Because you can only do everything you can possibly do, the rest is not up to you.

But if, for whatever reason, you’re not bringing your A-game to every situation,

Then you’re not just selling yourself short, but you’re selling the rest of us short too.