Published by JPLand on 11 Jun 2009 at 12:49 pm
Best Efforts
I have a gift/curse that has been with me for a while. My parents would probably indicate that it was absent during my childhood years, but it was definitely present during college. When it comes to doing things, I tend to go over-board. Projects for class? Overboard. My boss tasked me with tracking a couple of programs. My response? I went way overboard. (I set-up an automated spreadsheet with correlations between budgets and task completions and planet alignments and ants crossing the parking lot. It’s got detail.) Another example is my attendance to classes in college. I could not stand to miss a class, even if I knew that my presence wasn’t vital. I don’t think that I intentionally missed a class until my junior or senior year. When I take on a task, I go all-out. That’s a good thing…right?
The problem with my approach is that I tend to burn out much faster than most people. I set-up a killer spreadsheet, now I don’t want to see it anymore. By the time college was winding down, I was down to a dull roar and barely made it across the stage to get my diploma. In like a lion, out like a lamb.
This semester is testing the limits of how much I’m willing to give. I’ll be the first to admit that signing-up for two graduate-level courses wasn’t a smart thing to do for the summer session. The classes as separate entities wouldn’t be that bad during the summer. Both courses together during a normal-length semester wouldn’t be unbearable. In my efforts to get my degree and get out, I’ve hit a speed bump. There’s a lot of effort required for this summer. My nature says to give it 100%. But that’s taking too much of my time with family and work.
So, here’s the brain-twister that I’m trying to work-out. My mentality is to work with a hard-core pace and try to get 98.75% in both classes. But, I’m looking at the mountain in front of me and wondering if this might be a good time to try out the cruise control on my brain and settle for a B-.
My mom always said “just do your best.” Is it OK to do my “just good enough”?
Nikki Hardeman on 11 Jun 2009 at 1:38 pm #
I learned in seminary that occasionally, it was ok to do “just good enough”. In fact it is a good lesson in humility. One day, I was talking with a friend about what a hard time I was having keeping up with everything — my limits were being pushed beyond what was I able to give. This friend looked at me and said, “Nikki, you can’t make A’s in everything.” Everything included all the many roles I play everyday. It was freeing to think that I might let myself earn a B in something and it was good to be able to choose what that would be. I chose to make a B in a class instead of some of my relational roles with family. Good luck working it all out.
Alana on 12 Jun 2009 at 10:41 am #
YES! Good enough is fine. One, having a B average won’t matter one bit when you’ve got that degree. Two, ignoring your kids and your wife often does matter. Three, there’s nothing wrong with being mediocre. Lots of us are mediocre achievers and really, really happy. Being great at life is more important than being great at school. Sadly, I didn’t figure this out until after college. In fact, I think I was in graduate school at the time. Huh…
Lastly, as my mom used to say to me, “No one is paying any attention to you.” Except those people I mentioned in item two.
Heather on 14 Jun 2009 at 6:36 pm #
You know I went to grad school with a husband and child so I can feel your pain. I had to make choice in a couple of classes about how hard I could/would work. I knew that I could not do the work it took for an A and take care of my family. So….. I got two B’s in my three years of grad school. It pained me each time I earned a B but in the long run it doesn’t matter a bit!
Earn a B in the classes and an A with your girls…..you’ll be glad you did ( and they will too)!