I Was Thinking . . . Measuring Up
Rankings seem to be an important part of our society. Sports pages must have the standings, who is on top and how far behind other teams are. We keep score so we know who wins and who loses. And to some, unless you win the championship, you didn’t have a successful season.
Because there can only be one winner, this type of reasoning leaves us with a lot of losers. One of Minnesota’s most successful coaches was Bud Grant. But since he never won a Super Bowl, this Hall of Fame coach didn’t measure up to this unrealistic standard.
In our competitive culture, we rank cities, states, businesses, players, cars, schools, teams and most anything on a wide array of criteria. We seem to have a burning desire to see how we measure up . With our instant access to information, we can determine the biggest, fastest, richest, safest, strongest, prettiest, most accurate, most successful, and most popular.
But does this yearning to rank everything also reach into our personal lives?
Our comparison to others often started when schools began giving grades. We could easily see how we measured up with our classmates. As kids, we also recognized our status when we picked sides for games. Though there was no official evaluation, we knew where we stood if we were the last to be selected. As you grew up, you would think those assessments would fade. But apparently that is not the case. We just find new things on which to compare.
How do my clothes, house, car, income, or my adult toys compare with my neighbors, friends, or relatives? No matter what we possess, somebody will always have something better. This appraisal can also carry into other aspects of your life.
No matter how good looking, athletic, or talented we believe we may be, there will always be someone who is superior in some way. Luckily, I’ve never been under the illusion that I’ve been the best at anything. But that still hasn’t stopped me from gaging how I measure up to others.
I’m usually happy that despite everything in my garage, I can still get both vehicles inside. But mine can’t measure up to a friend whose garage is super organized, almost spotless, and still is undergoing improvements.
While I’m happy to sing in the church choir, I don’t measure up with those with perfect pitch and those that understand all the musical markings in each song. I do enjoy getting out on a lake and pulling in a couple of fish during the summer, but I’ve yet to land anything worth mounting. This year the flowers we planted around our yard did pretty well, but they didn’t compare to the flower garden show place some friends developed out in the country.
I’ve used some scrap lumber to complete some decorative wood projects for home and family, but they can’t match the carpentry skills of several friends that have created exquisite wooden works of art. For the most part, I keep our vehicles relatively clean, at least no one has written “WASH ME” on the back yet. But I pale in comparison with a friend that waxes more cars in a month than I have in a lifetime. Despite a love of sports, my athletic ability has relegated me to a fan in the stand more than a participant on the field.
So, in many ways I really don’t measure up.
A popular mantra has been, “Be All You Can Be.” While it is admirable to set goals and strive for success, it can also create an overwhelming sense of failure depending on your view of success. To some, success is measured in worldly goods, how many Facebook friends they have or how many awards or accolades they’ve received. I don’t know who made the statement, but the advice was, “It is good to know what you want, but it may be better to want what you have.”
We will always be able to find ways in which we don’t “measure up” if we constantly judge ourselves by what others have or can do. Too often we forget the gifts we’ve been given and what make us who we are. If we can be happy with that, maybe we’ve already succeeded.
Did You Ever Wonder? – Why are so many towns named after their water tower?
PHOTO: I was thinking Ron Albright