You are most likely not the best at everything.
Frankly, it is safe to say that you are not the best at most things. This is not a knock on you and I am not a magical witch who can see you through the computer screen and know everything about you. Statistically speaking, only one person is the best, and unless you’re holding a gold medal, it’s safe to guess you’re not.
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My Not-The-Best Origin Story
In my Realizing I am the Middle piece, I talk about not even being the best brown-noser. This is a fun and quippy anecdote but, there is actually a much longer story of not being the best when I look back that has nothing to do with this particular superlative.
Rachael Bade was always better than me in pretty much everything. She was one of those people who seemed to be great at everything, frankly. She was always the one to get solos in choir, be the smartest in chemistry, writing great essays in English, and on top of all of that was training to be an a ballet dancer. She was always the person just a little better than me, but she was also my friend and a good person.
Of course there were times where I resented her a little but ultimately, I became her cheerleader where I could. I thought it was so cool that she was working so hard toward her passions and goals. I went to several of her performances because I wanted to support her and see that other side of her life. I wish I could give you some kind of advice of how young Lacey did this, but frankly I have no idea. Maybe it is because I genuinely liked her, thought she was a good person, or I am just some kind of divine being.
I share this story, because we all probably have a Rachael Bade. That person who was always just beat us out for being at the top. It may not be a childhood friend, but a sibling, teammate, or know it all coworker in your world. Hell even now, this morning, the first post I see on Facebook is how Rachel is kicking ass and just published a book (Unchecked: The Untold Story Behind Congress’s Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump, buy it where ever books are sold). Literally, I am beginning to share my writing, with hopes of one day publishing a book, and hers is already out. I couldn’t help but laugh at how wild and weird the world can be.
We all can’t be Rachael Bade. But we can all be childhood Lacey, and cheer people on.
Moving Toward My Best
You may be thinking to yourself, why did you just go through a childhood rant about a non-nemesis, Lacey?
I look back at this story/tale now as such an interesting way to view the world. It is so easy to see people doing amazing things around us now. Through the Instagram stories, LinkedIn updates, viral TikToks, and old fashioned gossip, we see people around us that we know and don’t know living lives we envy or achieving goals we haven’t. It is easy to fall in this trap of not feeling good enough or thinking we have failed.
Being the best is great, but doing YOUR best is more important.
Sometimes your best is taking a selfie with your kids instead of a curated family photoshoot. Maybe it is just getting yourself fed today with a bowl of cereal instead of cooking a gourmet meal. No one is getting awards for any of it, ranking or status doesn’t matter. Your well-being and mental health does.
I don’t want to come off as some sage or guru in this. This message is for me most of all. Yes, childhood Lacey was wise beyond her years, but current Lacey still sees so many things and says why can’t I just do that. This gets especially difficult when we are discussing my anxiety and mental health.
My New Mantra
Yesterday, I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole of creating NFTs, digital wallets, and so many things I don’t totally understand. I successfully created my first NFT* (after a period of serious concern that I accidentally broke the internet), that is going to be a mantra of mine moving forward. See the beauty below.
I know I will have way more to say about this but for now, I hope it helps you. I hope the next time you see someone being the best you can remember that you’re just in the middle, that doesn’t make you mediocre, and you can cheer others on.
*Note — if you want to buy this NFT from me for millions of dollars I am not interested. Which now makes it worth hundreds of millions of dollars and then maybe I am interested and you can reach out. Thats how NFTs work right?
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