Sometimes it is not enough to do our best; we must do what is required. – Winston Churchill
The final resting place of Uncle Harry, of the 192nd, HQ Company, in the American Military Cemetery outside of Manila, in the Philippines.
What does that mean?
Today, in the USA, we celebrate Memorial Day, a day dedicated to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. With that in mind, we look at today’s quote, from Sir (along with many other honorifics) Winston Churchill, Brittain’s Prime Minister during the worst of World War Two.
The quote goes against what so many of us believe, and have been told since we were kids. “Just do your best,” is what we heard over and over. Yet this quote says that sometimes, that’s just not enough. What else is there to do if you have already given your best?
The quote concludes by answering that question. It tells us that sometimes, we must do what is required. We must reach deep within ourselves and do a thing we didn’t think we could do. We must reach beyond ourselves and do for others what we wouldn’t do for ourselves. We must reach into ourselves to find the strength to do what is required, regardless of the cost. Because sometimes, our best just isn’t good enough.
Why is doing better than your best important?
In ordinary circumstances, our best is usually plenty. Often we give a great deal less than our best, doing only what is necessary to get the job done, and nothing more. However, life isn’t always normal, and from time to time we may find ourselves in extraordinary circumstances.
In extraordinary circumstances, we may need to do a little extra, something beyond our “best,” as we might usually define it. We read in the papers and see on the news some of the heroes who did what was required. Sometimes they make it out OK, other times they are injured. Occasionally, what is required is greater than that.
What we don’t hear about is the thousands of people across the country, and across the world who do the same, but don’t receive the attention of the press. Sometimes what is required is financial aid, other times, it is as simple as helping someone push a car off a road into a parking lot, uphill and in the rain. It might have been more than they thought they could do, but it was what the situation required.
Where can I apply this in my life?
Unless you are of an age where you can dedicate the prime of your life to your country, municipality, or fellow humans in service, there really isn’t much you can do by way of planning. Unless you join the military, police, firefighters, or other emergency services, most of us won’t have many situations where this applies.
However, we can be prepared. Do you know anything about putting out a fire? Do you keep a fire extinguisher handy in your car and in your house? Do you know how to use it? Do you know first aid and CPR? Do you know what to do at the scene of an auto accident?
What I am talking about here is improving our best. We may never be in a situation where we need to do more than we are able, but we can prepare by making our best even better. In doing so, we are able to step forward and do more, and do what is required, where others wouldn’t know what to do.
By learning first aid, we can be of help when someone sustains a minor injury. By learning CPR, we may be able to help save a life, should someone be in need of assistance. By knowing what to do, we can help others while others simply look on in wonder.
The only other thing I can think of that can help us be ready to do what is required, beyond skill training, is mental training. In this case, it’s not learning mental skills, but mental fortitude. The will to go on, the discipline to do what is required. That comes from within, and requires a strong mind and spirit.
While I wouldn’t go out of my way to seek danger, there are plenty of daily annoyances we can use to help us prepare. When something goes wrong (or in some way other than you would prefer), instead of whining, set your jaw and move forward anyway.
Try not to complain or make excuses when it’s time to do the tough things, instead, use these situations to help toughen your spirit. While I cannot guarantee that this will help in a time of need, it certainly won’t hurt. And in the mean time, it will help you gain a bit of a reputation as someone who has the “can do” attitude, a truly exceptional thing in this day and age.
Whenever I feel like I can’t go on, like there isn’t anything more I can do, I try to remember my Uncle Harry, who not only survived a great ordeal, but helped others survive it as well. While in the end, he succumbed to circumstances at Camp O’Donnell, he did what was required, even though it was beyond his best. If he could rise to the challenge, so can I, and so I hope, can you.
To those who have written a check, made payable to the people of America as well as the people of the world, for any amount up to, and including the value of their life, I thank you. Because you are doing what is required, I can sit in comfort and write my small words on a computer while you sweat, freeze, and deal with discomforts I hope never to know.
From: Twitter, @DavidRoads
confirmed at : http://thinkexist.com/quotation/it-s_not_enough_that_we_do_our_best-sometimes_we/179802.html
Photo by Unknown Photographer
