All of us have some kind of potential we're meant to achieve in life. Success in life is always a combination of a God-given work ethic and ability. I don't feel like I've actually reached my potential, but I think that's actually good to feel that way to some degree. Now in my 70s, I'm going through a whole new cycle of figuring out how ambitious I should be over the next decade and what my new long term goals should be. Staying engaged and curious is very important as you get older. So many people languish in retirement because they don't feel like they have a purpose any more. The highest achievers are often people who are never satisfied with what they do. As soon as you reach one level, you're chasing the next one. Personally, I've tried to strike a balance between just enjoying my senior years and trying to reach the potential that I've accepted I'll never reach.
You're the only one who can make that call.
It's a daily dance. We all have our value in this life. Don't bemoan not having the achievements of others. Just be yourself. I have everything I need and nothing I don't need. And I'm happy with what I have and don't have. Still, it's never too late to change, learn, and grow. Set your standard high for yourself. Don't be afraid to stretch yourself. Strive for perfection. You won't hit it, but you might hit excellence along the way.
The goal is to arrive at a just estimate of yourself. The result is true humility -- not an ignorance of our abilities, but a recognition that we bring our gifts to God so that he may use them as he sees fit. This truth came home to me this morning as I read Rom. 12:3.
Here Paul uses a play on words that's missed in English translations. Literally he says, "Don't be high-minded beyond what you ought to be minded but be minded unto sober-mindedness." The ASV reads, "Think soberly." The CSB has, "Think sensibly." The ESV reads, "Think with sober judgment." I especially like the NLT's "Be honest in your evaluation of yourself." As for takeaways, I jotted these down in my journal:
1. Don't waste your time or energy trying to be someone you're not.
2. Don't hide your God-given abilities under the guise of a false humility.
3. God made each of us with natural abilities. The smallest and greatest among us are all alike to him.
4. Don't be lifted up with pride on account of the gifts God has given you.
Matthew Henry puts it this way: "We must not say, I am nothing, therefore I will sit still and do nothing; but, I am nothing in myself, and therefore I will lay out myself to the utmost in the strength of the grace of Christ."
Many people think that growing older and dying are life's greatest tragedies. To that I would say, "Humbug." Marathoner Walter Bortz, MD, coined a favorite phrase about exercising and aging that I've never forgotten. It goes like this: "It's never too late to start, and it's always too soon to stop."
These are words to live by. They are words I am living by.
Come join the fun.