Bill Jones: Just do the best you can do

Over the course of your lifetime, how often have you heard or used the expression, “Do the best you can”?

I am sure the answer is countless.

As a society that values achievement, we are always seeking to do our best. The assumption is that most of us want to do the best we can in school, work and in life, and, for most, the words, “do the best you can,” are words of encouragement and support.

When I was very young, my father was a high school basketball coach. I remember him telling me to “work hard,” “give 100%,” and “do the best you can,” so often that they just seemed like “basketball words” to me. As I grew older, I realized that these weren’t just athletic phrases. I learned that my father was not saying these things to put pressure on me, nor was he comparing me to others. He was trying to be the best parent he knew how to be and simply wanted to encourage me to reach whatever potential I had and become the best person I was capable of becoming.

As we start a new year, many of us do so with resolutions and a hopefulness that 2022 will be better than 2021. After nearly two years of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, our lives, work, mental and physical health, relationships, and plans for the future have all been impacted. What was normal two years ago has certainly changed and many, including and especially school-age children, are stressed and overwhelmed.

While the challenges of the pandemic continue to weigh heavily on all of us, more and more I find myself reflecting on my father’s advice and straightforward wisdom … “Do the best you can.”

One of his favorite pieces of inspiration came from a speech President Teddy Roosevelt gave more than 110 years ago when traveling abroad. For a long time, these familiar words were framed on his office wall in the basement of our home:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deed could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best, knows the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

If you are a student in school, a parent raising children, an employee juggling work and home responsibilities, an employer trying to keep a business open, or someone whose work and life has been significantly impacted by the pandemic, you are “in the arena.” COVID has challenged all of us and we all err and have shortcomings. Remember that even if you stumble, your cause is worthy and the critic doesn’t count.

As we turn the calendar and look forward to 2022, be kind to yourself and others. Strive valiantly.

Happy New Year to all and continue to “do the best you can.”