Just Ok May Be Ok

My mother used to tell me that no matter how great I am at something, someone out there will always be better, and that’s ok. 

What she meant by that is that I should never compare myself to others as a way to judge my own success.  It will only cause me to feel disappointed regardless of my level of accomplishment.  Or worse, it could end up prematurely capping my potential if my only goal is to beat someone, causing me to stop trying the second that I’ve “won”.

At any rate, several months have passed since my last (actually first) blogpost as scoutmaster.  All I can say is that I am in even deeper awe at how amazing this troop is, and also what a great time I am having being a part of it.  Since last time, we have completed 11 troop outings, 9 patrol outings, two elections, ILST training, an OA Ordeal, summer camp, eight service events including five Eagle projects, 17 rank advancements including three Eagles, and have also welcomed 14 (and possibly soon to be 15) new scouts to our troop (three from other troops).

When I first started my scoutmaster journey, to be quite frank, I was a little nervous about how my taking on the reigns would impact the trajectory of the troop.  I stared at the huge number of impressive accomplishments that were achieved over the prior seven-ish years of its existence.  I was worried whether the troop would be able to maintain the same level of momentum, or if we would somehow become less active, which means less fun, which means less impactful on the lives of the scouts. 

But instead of wasting time on the “what ifs”, I decided to instead emulate many past and current great scout leaders.  I have tried to uphold three very important tenets of scouting that have held tried and true since the inception of scouting: so long as a troop 1) remains scout-led, 2) follows the scout oath and law, and 3) has fun, it will continue to thrive.  

Taking those things to heart, I made a conscious decision to not focus on what we have done in the past, or not care about what or how other troops are doing especially since the pandemic a began, and instead I have continued to try and focus on those three concepts.  And, wow, have we continued to thrive.  The experiences we have had and are still having, the skills we have developed and are still developing, and most importantly, the friendships I see that have been formed and are still forming are proof of how well we are doing.

Extrapolating these beliefs to everyday life, so long as you focus on making the best of this very moment, you will be always be fine.  It doesn’t matter what the next person is doing because ultimately, the goal in life is to live YOUR own best life, not someone else’s.