Years ago, actually decades ago, I can still remember attending Junior High School dances every Saturday night at the Seabreeze Recreation Center in Daytona Beach, Florida. I loved dancing. When no other dude would step out in the floor and ask one of the already dancing girls if he could join in, I would! The way I saw it, there was no possible way that I could be as bad of a dancer as those dudes! As I grew older, the more self conscious I became. Eventually, I was on the sidelines with my fragile ego in tact and yet not safe. Until…Until I would build up enough courage to JUST DANCE. And then the fun returned.
I read this a few months ago and thought you might enjoy this quote on AMBITION from CS Lewis.
“What we call “ambition” usually means the wish to be more conspicuous or more successful than someone else. It is this competitive element in it that is bad. It is perfectly reasonable to want to dance well or to look nice. But when the dominant wish is to dance better or look nicer than others – when you begin to feel that if the others danced as well as you or looked as nice as you, that it would take all the fun out of it – then you are going wrong.”
It’s true isn’t it? Human ability at its worst is a sin of comparison.
It’s not enough to be a strong leader; you have to be strongest leader.
It’s not enough to be a pretty woman; you have to be the prettiest woman.
It’s not enough to climb the ladder; you have to be at the top of the ladder.
It’s not enough to be a good parent; you have to be seen as the best parent.
It’s not enough to be a good provider; you want to be known as the best provider.
You have to constantly see yourself as better, more deserving, and more right than everyone else.
This is disturbingly too close for comfort. In the battle of comparisons, we will all lose.
The Divine made no mistake when He created you and breathed life into you including a plan for you to prosper. So Just Go Ahead & Dance!
My advice? Should you choose to dance – Just dance. Don’t worry about everyone else on the floor. You’ll be so much happier for it!
—AChuck
