My dad, who had a way of saying things that stuck, told me: I don’t care what you do – but if you decide to be a plumber be the best plumber you can be.
I didn’t choose plumbing but his simple idea stuck with me. Be the best you can be. And never compare yourself to others.
It starts in the primary grades. An “exceptional” is better than “acceptable”. An A+ is better than a B. And it continues throughout our lives.
We measure ourselves against an unfair yardstick – one that has no end – one that tries to compare the undefinable.
People are not eggs. We cannot be graded. And even in eggs it is a falsehood. A grade B egg may be perfect for the task at hand.
I used to tell my over-achieving students – An honest B is worth more than an A that used every trick in the book.
Strangely – I’d say the same thing to my underachieving student – the one who thought they weren’t good enough – the one’s who thought they couldn’t cut it. Some stuff is hard for one person and easy for someone else. Stop comparing yourself to others. Remember that in our illogical evaluative system we have decided that 50% is a pass. So, you have done enough – and you will do more if it becomes useful.
And in business, we persist. We tie everything to some evolutionary process. Start here – get promoted – make more money – repeat… Success.
Evaluations will note a person does not have ambition.
Evaluations will criticize the person who does not want more.
They seldom praise the worker who has found their satisfaction in the work they are doing.
People ask nurses why they didn’t become a doctor.
Teachers think they should strive for an administrative position.
Bookkeepers apologize to themselves for not obtaining an accounting designation.
Good enough – for some reason – isn’t good enough. It should be.
It is not a question of smart, or ambition. It is a question of finding what you like to do and doing it well.
BZMind 
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