“Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” –George S. Halas
I see young advisors fail regularly, and in their exit interviews they don’t regret starting with the company but rather not taking advantage of the opportunity, of not listening to mentors and working as hard as they could have. They regret not giving their best.
I see athletes not reach their potential and years later as they look back wish that they had been more disciplined and listened more. If they had given more, they would have gotten more from their careers and talent.
I see relationships fall apart and one party beating themselves up not for what they did, but for what they didn’t do. For the attention they didn’t give or the little things that they should have done to show their affection, and now the other person is gone while pain and regret remain.
In everything, there is an opportunity cost. If I chose to do x, I forgo y. If I chose to eat the donut, I don’t eat the healthy snack and do microdamage to my body. If I leave at 4:45 I avoid the traffic, but if I stay working until 5:35 I avoid the traffic too and can squeeze out this extra work and receive the reward for it. Is being home alone earlier worth it in the long run, or just feels good in the moment?
Our nature is to take the easier route, the more convenient one. To do what feels better in the short-term, even if the long-term loss is much greater.
But if you regularly chose to give your best, even if it is not recognized immediately, even if it hurts a bit (emotionally, financially, physically), if you chose to empty your tank to give everything you’ve got at the moment for that particular situation, you will win. Maybe not today’s game, but in the end you will be a champion on many fronts.
Give your best and you will be your best.