Being a little better everyday

You know, I go for a run from time to time. I am by no means fast. I am by no means good. At first, when I started running more, I got really excited about how much I was running and then I looked at my average pace compared to other people’s times, and I got embarrassed because it was fast for a 12 year old, and I am not actually 12, in case you were wondering. 

But it would be really really silly if I let that stop me. Running is objectively good for me, even if I am slow. I like running and think it is fun. But sometimes, those litte thoughts creep in that sound something along the lines of You are not even fast or If you were in like a high speed chase scene for a movie, it would be super boring, because you are basically just doing a fast walk right now. Or you know, something like that. 

It is impossible to be the best at everything. Sometimes, it feels impossible to be the best at just one thing. Sometimes, when we feel like we can’t do the best at something, we don’t try at all. And that is a real bummer. 

Think of all of the good things that have happened in the world. Rome was not built in a day. The Bible was written by one God, but also, like a ton of people. I’m pretty sure Taylor Swift’s albums took, like, a while to write and produce.The things that are the most worthwhile often take a lot of behind the scenes work and a lot of people.  

Fortunately, there are a lot of days and a lot of people who exist in the world. If you woke up this morning, that means you have today, and today means that you have the opportunity to be just a little bit better than yesterday. If we want to accomplish anything significant in life, we have to be willing to break our big goals into smaller pieces and celebrate the pieces we accomplish.  

That is the mindset I am going into Dressember with. The goal of Dressember is to raise awareness and funds for victims of human trafficking by wearing a dress or a tie for the whole month. If you’re not aware, human trafficking is the forced exploitation of human beings. It is a 150 billion dollar industry and an estimated 25 million people are living in slavery right now.  

Now, that would be a lot to solve in one day. But luckily, we have a lot of days, and a lot of little great things that we can do to raise awareness about it. That might mean, instead of spending 6 dollars on a coffee, you give 6 dollars to preventing the exploitation of human beings (and then you also buy yourself a coffee, because that level of philanthropy deserves a treat!). Or you look up some info to be more informed about trafficking. Or you have a conversation with a friend about it. They are all small things, but a lot of people doing one small thing adds up to one big thing, eventually.  

Maybe for you, that means going to bed a little earlier, or reaching out to that person you haven’t talked to in a while or something. Or running a really slow mile, but a mile still. Or turning in that assignment you’ve been dreading. Whatever it is, everyday, you are capable of doing one small thing. How neat is that?  

Donate to Dressember here.