In boxing, a fighter might get hit and knocked to the canvas. The referee intervenes and gives them a standing eight count. In order to continue, the fighter has to demonstrate that they have all of their faculties and can maintain their balance. That said, the reason so many people watch boxing or UFC fights is not to see the standing eight count, but to witness the complete knockout. When a fighter is knocked out, there is no standing eight count and they aren’t getting up – at least not immediately.
People often reference boxing as analogy for life. A popular colloquialism is “fall down seven times and get up eight.” I was pondering this common saying the other day and thought, “wait, is that even possible?” If you fall down seven times, you get up seven times….it’s not even actually possible to get up an eighth time until you fall down an eighth time! Therein lies my point for this post. So many times we feel we need to do the extraordinary. We, myself included, feel as though we need to exceed the expectations that we have of ourselves as well as those that others have of us. Extraordinary means unusually excellent. It means additional and greater. The question becomes ‘greater’ than what or who? ‘Unusual’ compared to what or who? By what standard do we or should we judge our efforts or accomplishments?
The truth of the matter is that we can only live up to the capacity of what was placed inside of us. I know it’s popular, especially in the sports world, to say “give me 110%!” However, just like falling down seven times and getting up eight, giving 110% is literally and physically impossible. Once 100% of a glass is full of water it can’t hold any more water, no matter how hard it tries or how devoted to that task it becomes.
We often place pressure on ourselves because of what we see others doing. Judy Garland said, “Always be a first rate version of yourself and not a second rate version of someone else.” God knew what He was doing when He made you. Every time you try to be someone else or do something to mirror someone else’s success, it’s akin to a slap in God’s face. God desires for you to distribute, display, and disseminate your purpose, gift, calling, anointing, or assignment in a specific sphere of influence somewhere on this vast planet. Only He, the manufacturer, will know when we, the product, are producing at maximum levels.
It’s difficult to be comfortable in your position in society if you don’t know why you’re there to begin with. Mark Twain said, “the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” If you don’t know your “why”, that should be the first prayer you pray after you finish this blog. WHY do you get up in the morning? WHY do you do what you do? WHY do you have the vision you have? If you do know your “why”, then you should pursue it with 100% of yourself (see what I did there?).
Whether your purpose is to start a business, a non-profit, be a missionary, play professional sports, sing, dance, teach, counsel others, write books, or do construction there will be obstacles along the way. You might ‘fall’ in the process. You may experience some setbacks. As a matter of fact, it is almost a guarantee that there will be failures along the way. But if you know ‘why’ you are doing what you are doing, once seeming roadblocks will become stepping stones on your path to success. Circumstances are only unbearable when purpose is indefinable! Has your purpose been defined yet? Have you written it down? Have you prayed about it? Has God confirmed it? If so, then proceed with relentless faith. I know there are times where it seems like giving up is the best option or that changing your vision is the way to go. But the only way you lose is when you give in. When you get knocked down, don’t take it as a loss – take it as a lesson.
Be encouraged! Keep going! Keep pursuing what He put in you! Surround yourself with like-minded people! Life can be a struggle. The only way it won’t be is if we come to understand why we must endure what we endure.