MY Best vs. THE Best

"People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway."

~Mother Theresa

I really love this quote (yea I'm having a quote kind of week).  Even if you don't believe in any sort of higher power, the idea that your life is between you and you is pretty powerful.  The motivation to strive to do your best everyday regardless of where it gets you is inherent.  To give it your all is rewarding in and of itself.  Imagine, if everyone tried to be the best person they could be everyday, and treated others as they would like to be treated.  That would be some world!

It can be difficult not to compare yourself to others, not to judge yourself according to outside influences, or judge others against yourself.  We've all done it at some point or another: felt inadequate by comparing our lives to another persons, felt superior by comparing our choices to someone else's. (I can't tell you how many times I've left the house so pleased with an outfit, only to get to my destination and regret how over or under dressed I am compared to everyone else.)  That's one of my favorite things about the sport of distance running.  The competition is between you and you.  You're not racing against someone else (not really), you're chasing your own PR, or simply proving to yourself that you have the stamina, the dedication, the drive.  I've got medals from some of the races I've run, and certainly people have told me they're impressed I run such long distances, but the real reward is internal.  It's the strength I feel when I'm moving, the strength of will and body that I've cultivated, and the drive to always work harder.  As I age, I'll get slower no doubt, and have to cut mileage, but as long as I'm making the commitment to do the best I can every day, it will be enough.

I made some resolutions in January (as I'm sure most of you did too), but to be honest with you, I don't remember what they were, and I can't find where I wrote them down.  I've decided to make some new resolutions.  For today.  For tomorrow.  For the day after that.  Resolutions to make every morning before I get out of bed.

Today I will hold no grudges, I'll remember to forgive.
Today I will be kind and face the world with patience.
Today I will be honest.
Today I will be happy, at the very least grateful.
Today I will do good.
I will give the world the best I have today.  Maybe it is a lot, and maybe it is a little, but whatever my best is today, I will give it.