I learned a valuable lesson while
studying at BYU; well plenty of valuable lessons. Truman G. Madsen was
the good stake president of the student ward I attended. At the time of his
death, President Madsen was "an emeritus
professor of religion and philosophy at Brigham Young University and director of the Brigham Young
University Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies. He was a prolific author, a recognized authority on Joseph
Smith, and a popular lecturer among Latter-day
Saints." [i]
At one of
our semiannual stake conferences, President Madsen was
discoursing on overcoming the daily weakness we face and in conquering the
challenges of life. He then shared a little gem that has had a profound effect
on my life: "Do not neglect your strengths while working on your
weaknesses."
We become
so focused on repairing damages done, righting wayward courses, and tending to
areas of struggle, that we fail to recognize the potential harm we commit to
that which we're already strong at or competent in. The results can be an
atrophying of formerly strong talents, gifts, and strengths.
It may become commonplace to presume that once we've accomplished something, that we no longer need to pay it any attention; that we've somehow become perfect in that desired area, and will always remain so. Ask any professional football player, basketball player, musician, author, lawyer, teacher etc, and they will readily and quickly admit that in order to stay competitive and in some cases employed, practice truly makes perfect. The biggest mistake we can make is to rest on our laurels.
Finding balance in anything we do
is vital to a healthy, productive, and happy life. And true growth,
strength, and power certainly comes in facing, rather than fleeing from
the unexpected challenges that inevitably come our way. But this same
growth also comes as we attempt those things we may not know beforehand we
can do - the hard things of life. As we choose these hard things, success will
be measured in the effort we plied; not in whether we reached the literal
finish line.
As we
maintain current abilities, while working on weaknesses, recognize
the power obtained and the character growth developed from overcoming a
problem has a far more reaching affect than actually overcoming that problem.
Naturally, conquering any of life’s obstructions is in itself an accomplishment
and a victory, but the power we now possess empowers us to boldly face all
current and future obstacles and trials in our lives. This strength motivates us
into defeating eventual trials that require faith, dedication, and desire. This
growth impels us to stand in defense of all we know to be true and
good. It is this same life changing power that brings about continued
obedience as well as true repentance, and ultimately, actual eternal
happiness. Put another way, "That which we persist in doing becomes easier to do,
not that the nature of the thing has changed but that our power to do has
increased.” [ii]
Again,
the greater reward in doing anything new and difficult may very well be the
growth obtained along the way as opposed to that which we originally set out to
accomplish. But do not lose hold of all you accomplished and learned. As we
look back at where we've come, we'll be amazed at what was learned in getting
there.
And truth
be told, practice only makes perfect as we keep practicing.
