Have you ever felt like you did something good, then worried that you have to do it better the next time? It’s an upward climb from beginning to mastery, but everyone expects you to do it even better every step of the way. So. You worry. What if this time isn’t any better than the last time, and what if it’s worse than it’s been for a while. On top of that, what happens when you’re expected to give your best but it doesn’t quite line up?
I watched my bride give herself her first injection. You hope every time is better than the first time. Right? I heard medical professionals would practice on fruit before they had a willing volunteer. Imagine being in that class! But when you give the shot to yourself, well, there are times the needle bends, or the fluid is colder than usual (brrr!), or you use too much force, and maybe not enough. Regardless, every jab is a test of doing it better than yesterday.
The first time I taught a college-level class (1983), I thought I was ready until it was time to speak. Then everything felt wrong. I turned my back to the class, said a quick prayer, wrote something on the chalkboard, turned back around, and shined! Prayer worked! My confidence soared.
My first-midnight support call, as a supervisor over computer operators in a 7-24 environment! Whew! So glad I made the right call! Then later, I activated my first computer program (RPG II, COBOL, Assembler, Fortran, and later all the web-based tools) into production with actual results. Do they pass muster with the user? Wow! I can do this! Thirty-seven languages later, I realized it was a gift of analytical skills that had nothing to do with poor math skills. College-level testing warned me against computer programming as a career.
Then, that first time you preached a sermon. Worried beyond anything else you’ve ever done, and though it was not as good as it should have been, the idea was born. I Can Do This!
This morning, I thought about the first time always being the worst, and every time after that is better.
That’s not always true. Sometimes the last time is not as good as those younger tries. Think professional sports. Barring injury, they all retire sometime when they are no longer up to the competition level they once had way back when.
What Have You Mastered
What is it in life you’ve learned to master that took a lot of time and practice till it became second nature? It sometimes worries me that medicine is considered a “practice” and not a “mastered!” Or, we base our driving skills not only on constant usage but lessons learned back in high school nearly 50 years ago! I’ve had a driver’s license in three states and each one of them had different “rules of the road” that were unique.
You would think I would make fewer mistakes through my years of driving (my truck hit 351,191 miles today). Well, I do. Fewer, that is. My confidence and skills are not in question, but many others on the road also make mistakes! I have over 2 million miles on the road, but that only means the opportunities are endless for “them” to drive stupidly in your direction!
Keeping romance alive is an ongoing practice that takes on different measurements as you age. What was once enjoyed (nice dinner, play, drive, etc.) is now a quick peanut butter sandwich, and rush out the yard to take care of the new puppies! I kid you not! Those puppies require much more attention than our children did! Of course, we only had two kids, and now we have nine puppies! These are our first babies of the animal kind as adults. As kids, our dogs, cats, and goats had babies all the time. We never cared for them like we are caring for these fur babies! We’ve determined – no pet breeding business in our future! It’s too much work!
Have you mastered your temperament? Emotions? Excesses? Is there something you are still working on? What measurements are you using to see if you have improved? Do you have a plan for mastery?
An outstanding preacher I know was preaching a particular service I had invited him to, and my pastor said, “I’m always amazed at how he preaches! Where does he come up with these thoughts?” Thirty years later, those thoughts are still shared in even more significant stages of ministry.
Mastery Isn’t All There Is
When you reach a pinnacle, it is no good to be the best. You come to expect no less than giving your best. Then, as you age, what if you have no one to pass the skill set through?. Being a mentor or coach is just another item that starts at a lower level, and someday be good enough you are sought to help the next person grow.
A mom learned nurturing from somewhere and then teaches nurturing to her young charges. How? By doing. They learn from what was an example and take it forward to maturity. The father (roles are changing all the time, but you catch my drift) teaches his young charges how to do certain things around the yard, car, barn, and fence line. Those youngsters learn! Then do, and later teach the next generation.
Look at the books of families in the Old Testament, and then think about the generations that carried forward the teachings of the old. Moses received the Law from God (Exodus 24:12) and was commissioned to teach them to Israel. It did not end there. Every generation had someone commissioned to learn, do and then teach.
For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD,
and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.
(Ezra 7:10 KJV)
Here’s My Thought
If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten. Correct?
There’s an old Aggie (Texas A&M) joke, but it is about anybody. Sitting in a movie theater, he bet the stranger sitting next to him that the guy riding the horse would duck when he goes under the tree so the branch doesn’t knock him out of the saddle. Of course, it doesn’t happen that way. When the film was over, the Aggie was upset. “I’ve watched this film 10 times. You’d think that horseman would learn there’s a branch in that tree!”
I’ve shared this many times, but it’s appropriate to my thought today.
Good, better, best.
Never let it rest.
Till your good gets better.
And your better gets best.
~Rev James L Kilgore
When taking guitar lessons (1967’ish), I never could play very well. I did not have an ear for music or a teacher who could take our church songbooks and translate the notes into chords, nor could I build calluses on my fingers (sandpaper and brine never worked for me). At my first Sunday night service, I turned my amp as low as it could go and played like I knew what I was doing. Someone came to me afterward and bragged about my playing. Frightened, I first made sure my amp was turned down! I thought I may have turned it the wrong way! After some time I gave it up.
There are some activities in life we are never going to be good with, and no hope of getting better because there is no challenge to improve.
What’s the key? Know what you can do, but don’t stop here. Pour yourself into the next generation, or someone in need, and let’s help all of us become better at what we have in our hands to do.
It’s better to give, than to receive, true. But it’s always better to be the giver!