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June 8, 2009
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Worth Doing Poorly?, by Rubel Shelly
Anything worth doing, is worth doing poorly! Many of us miss some of
life's best things while saying, "I don't know how to do that. If I
were to try, I'd only make a fool of myself."
A fellow I know well tried to water ski -- once. He tried to get up on
the skis three or four times that day. Every time he tried, he wound up
tumbling into the water. The three guys on the lake with him all
coached. They also laughed at his frustration. "One last time!" he
yelled. Then, when he was yanked into the lake again, he swam over to
the boat. He was edgy for the remainder of the day. And he has never
tried to water ski again in the 40 or more years since.
Perfectionists settle for nothing short of a first-rate performance
from themselves. When they come across something that has to be learned
through trial and error, they become intolerant of their limitations.
They pile up points in the things they can do with ease and skill,
while ignoring -- and maybe even putting down -- the things they do
poorly.
People with this bent of personality can get depressed, for nobody is
capable of premier performance in everything. They get so tense they
sometimes botch even the things they are good at doing. They can't
relax. They remove risks from life by narrowing their interests. They
get in safe, comfortable, and boring ruts.
It's liberating for some people to find out they can make mistakes and
still survive! If your new dessert flops, the world won't end. If you
make a mistake at work, you won't die. If you can't master calculus or
statistics, you can still be a good person. If someone hears you sing
off-key, you won't become an outcast.
Thank God for mistakes. They let you learn. They mean you are still
pushing out your horizons. They give you a chance to grow. They let the
rest of us know you are still one of us.
Give it a shot.
If you were perfect, your life would be terribly dull. Nothing to
learn. No more challenges. No relationships with peers. The rest of us
would probably be too intimidated to talk to you, play tennis with you,
or work alongside you. And you certainly wouldn't need for anyone of
our inferior status to care about you.
So don't be paralyzed by your fears. Whatever it is that you want to do
and do well likely will be learned through a process that involves some
miscues and false starts. But, if it's worth doing at all, it's worth
doing poorly at first.
Give it a shot. Take piano lessons. Write a short story. Learn to use a
computer. Paint your bedroom. Water ski. Care about someone.
At the cross, God showed us how creative he can be with what looked to
all the world to be failure. Why not give him a chance with you?
Where are the wise? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the
philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the
world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom
did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what
was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and
Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling
block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God
has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human
wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength (1
Corinthians 1:20-25 TNIV).
---------
(c) 2009 Used by permission. From Rubel Shelly <rshelly@rc.edu>'s
"FAX of Life" printed each Tuesday. See Faith Matters for
previous issues of the "FAX of Life."
RELATED LINKS:
* Confessions of a Perfectionist
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200704/20070411_perfectionist.html
* To My Fellow Perfectionists
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200410/20041023_perfectionists.html
* A Distressing Secret to Success
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200711/20071118_secret.html
* RubelShelly.com
http://www.rubelshelly.com/
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200906/20090608_doingporly.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
TWELVE ORDINARY MEN, by John MacArthur
If Christ can accomplish His purposes through the lives of common men
like these, imagine what He has in store for you.
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