People say that they want to be the best. I guess there's nothing wrong with that but I wonder if it's emotionally healthy to desire to always be in a position where you are the benchmark for success. Furthermore, I truly believe that people who actually are the best did not gain that position from mere desire to be labeled as the best at what they do. I'm pretty sure that some people were born into tough situations that required them to be the best at what they do or else they face the consequence of not being the best.
Isn't this the definition of the term best: better than everything else in comparison? This means that to be the best you have to be better than everyone you are comparable to. It's a title of great accomplishment. I can only imagine what thoughts the man who is the best sniper in the world has in his mind. He might say something like, "I am the best because otherwise I would be dead and so would many other friends of mine. This is not something that I desire to be the best at but it is a requirment in order to sustain life in my community."
I'm sure that most people are a little more realistic and want to be the best singer or the best cook or even the best driver. I wonder what motivates a person to be the best at anything and on what scope would you consider a person to be the best. Are they the best in their town or the best in the world? No matter the details I'm sure it requires a high level of dedication, passion and focus. To be the best at anything must require something extra besides just the wont of a title.
Once again, I would argue that the best are born and raised into the title as a mode of survival. Maybe the best singer in the world is the best singer because as a child she sang songs to hide all of the pain and hurt of a broken household of lies, drugs and sex. And so now she continues to sing on a global level because people need something as beautiful as her voice to console them in the midst of crisis and poverty. Maybe she would prefer to be just an everyday joe with a normal voice who sings songs to pass the time of day; but she was not born into mediocrity.
The best are by no means mediocre. They are not allowed to be mediocre. The best are bound to terms of greatness and any less would cause them to be suffocated in pity. To them, greatness is a responsibility, a burden that not all may carry. I am sure that God has called all of us to be great in some aspect of our lives. My greatness shines through my smile and demeanor. Where does your greatness exist?
