A Joyous Perspective on Living in the Realm of the Required: Sometimes, all that matters is getting it done.

 

Winston Churchill once said, " Sometimes it is not enough to do your best. Sometimes, you must do what is required."

This was a man who knew a thing or two about surviving adversity under extraordinary conditions. When fighting for survival or other high stakes, it hardly matters what you think you can do or how well you think you can do it. All that matters is what must be done.

We all have ideas about what we can accomplish and how much we can stand. Most of us feel capable of only so much effort, and we assume that if we try hard and do our very best, we have done all we can.

It could be more accurate to say that we have done everything we can do...

Or that we are comfortable doing.

Or that could be expected of us. But we have not done all that we can do.

Often in life's most difficult situations, you don't get to hold on to your opinion about what you can do. Before you know it, you are in over your head, and things are happening so fast that you no longer have time to quibble about reasonable effort and what might be necessary for survival. You just start doing. You have been swept from the gentle land of sincere effort into the gritty realm of the required.

Those who have faced some trauma are endowed with a survival gear overdrive mode when faced with a severe threat.

We don't walk around thinking about this gear. We just toddle along, believing we are a little four-cylinder unit only equipped for general usage. But human history contradicts this belief. History tells us humankind is the biggest, badass, all-wheel drive vehicle. When life gets rough, humans shift down and pull whatever power is needed to gain traction.

We hear about superhuman feats, like pulling a car off of someone.

But most of the strengths require things outside of the Marvel Universe. Behaviors such as protracted patience or biting your tongue until you taste blood. These frustrations and deprivations are feats of endurance that go beyond what you thought you could tolerate. But growth and enhanced self-respect are the payoffs for those who successfully deal with these situations.

And then, sometimes, when we find ourselves unexpectedly challenged, we might slip into resentment and anxiety. What is this? I didn't sign up for this role. It could help to take a step back and consider that you are possibly the one who has exactly what it takes. You are "that one" with the most sensible ideas or emotional stamina to do what needs to be done. So when things get bad enough, or your loved ones are at risk, you suddenly have much in common with Churchill. You pull it together, and instead of worrying whether your best will be good enough, you just start doing what is required. 

You may realize how under-challenged you've been in your previous roles.

But we only sometimes do that willingly. You may believe you don't have exceptional mental or physical strength simply because not much of it is required for ordinary life. No one likes to go beyond what we think should be asked of us. We instinctively resist anything perceived as an unfair burden or the sole responsibility for fixing a problem. Most people have to get over this hum of resentment before they start to function effectively in the realm of the required. However, once the bitterness calms down, you face the simplicity of just doing what needs to be done next. 

And when you respond to that calling, there is a sense of something that feels like fear but just might be exhilaration.

You can function at the level where your best is good enough. But sometimes, in a flash, you are ushered into Churchill's realm of the required. When life demands a response, it doesn't ask which one you feel comfortable making - it demands it. It requires supreme effort for the situation and nothing less. Sir Winston would tell you that humans are designed to do that. 

You will remember your strength when circumstances require you to use it.