Nine months ago I began a journey of practicing mindfulness every day and we've reached day 271.
Yesterday, I talked about fighting adversity until the very end. Today is a new day.
Whatever the endeavor, there is always someone that's better than us at something, yet our sense of pride makes us want to always be "better". I tend to be overly critical of myself and when I see what others have accomplished I end up thinking about what I lack and when left unchecked it can lead to a sense of disappointment in the self. But it's natural that there are people out there who have accomplished what we have not. It has nothing to do with our own worth.
I have mad respect for anyone who is completely dedicated to what they're doing. You can't fake it and there's no disrespecting it. Even if they're not the best, they're still a marvel to watch. When they do succeed? It's inspirational. Rather than focusing on what others have accomplished, shifting that focus toward what I can be doing to improve myself and putting my best effort into whatever I do gives it more meaning. Even if I'm the worst at drawing, that shouldn't stop me from trying anyway. It's what I want to do, so I should do it while putting all of my effort into it. Results are nice, but they're not all that matter. It's the heart that counts. next time I feel down about something I just have to remind myself to try my best. That's all I can really ask for.
I may not succeed the first time, but I can always try again.
Peace
Yesterday, I talked about fighting adversity until the very end. Today is a new day.
"Life doesn't require that we be the best, only that we try our best." - Harriett Jackson Brown Jr.I started working on a new art project the other day and it involves seeing a stairway to the door of truth seen through a gap between two hands held together connected only by the thumbs and index fingers. I lack practice when it comes to drawing the body so I spent a lot of time using my hands as reference and putting in minor details here and there. I had to erase my lines a million times and redraw things so they looked more proportionate time and again, but although they started out as monstrosities I was eventually able to draw more realistic looking hands. I still have a long way to go before they look "perfect", but it's the act of trying and looking to improve that's important as an artist. It shows that I still have room to grow and that I am capable of improvement.
Whatever the endeavor, there is always someone that's better than us at something, yet our sense of pride makes us want to always be "better". I tend to be overly critical of myself and when I see what others have accomplished I end up thinking about what I lack and when left unchecked it can lead to a sense of disappointment in the self. But it's natural that there are people out there who have accomplished what we have not. It has nothing to do with our own worth.
I have mad respect for anyone who is completely dedicated to what they're doing. You can't fake it and there's no disrespecting it. Even if they're not the best, they're still a marvel to watch. When they do succeed? It's inspirational. Rather than focusing on what others have accomplished, shifting that focus toward what I can be doing to improve myself and putting my best effort into whatever I do gives it more meaning. Even if I'm the worst at drawing, that shouldn't stop me from trying anyway. It's what I want to do, so I should do it while putting all of my effort into it. Results are nice, but they're not all that matter. It's the heart that counts. next time I feel down about something I just have to remind myself to try my best. That's all I can really ask for.
I may not succeed the first time, but I can always try again.
Peace
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If at first you don't succeed, just try; try again. |
If you have any thoughts, stories, or experiences, leave them in a comment below!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day~