There’s an awful lot getting in the way of college students when it comes to academic work. Time management, mental and physical health, and something I like to call the discipline vs. motivation balance all need to be in decent working order before we can be in “working order,” ourselves.
Imagine what it would take for your environment to be as conducive to productivity as possible. You’d need to have gotten enough sleep the night before, drank enough, probably eaten something, your anxiety levels would have to be somewhere manageable, and a host of other things need to be in order before you can even think about doing schoolwork.
But there’s one more essential piece to God-honoring work of any form, whether it be academic or any other type. When you’re sitting there, in your study space, it’s vital that you be brave enough to do your best. I’m sure it’s obvious why doing your best is important, but I’m the type of person that likes to hear affirmation a lot, so I’ll say this anyway. You need to do your best because you are a unique, one-of-a-kind individual who is well on their way to changing the world. I’ve never heard of a person being born who didn’t change the world in some meaningful way, whether big or small, bad or good.
This holds especially true for Christians. If we’re called to live self-sacrificial lives of service towards others, then doing our best in all aspects of life follows directly from the golden rule. We want our professors, doctors, and parents to be doing their best, and this desire is good. We know that they expect the same from us, because we’re all called to it. We owe it to each other to carry out our roles and responsibilities to the highest caliber we are able.
But this is really, really, really hard. It’s MUCH easier said than done. And there’s one thing standing in the way that I want to address. It stems partly from pride, partly from self-doubt, partly from laziness and a host of other things; but this problem, in its entirety, comes straight out of Hell.
It’s scary to do your best a) because it’s hard, but b) because it’s scary to find out what your best might actually be. What if we’re not the best? What if you study harder than anyone else in your class, but don’t get the highest grade? What if you pour your heart and soul into a philosophy paper, only to get a C+? What if we do our very best to study for an exam, only to get the lowest grade in the class? (Take it from me, it happens.)
It takes big guts to push your own boundaries. It means leaning into our fears and anxieties in order to discover the truth about our capabilities. Lack of effort in school is very commonly done to avoid cognitive dissonance, the uncomfortable feeling one gets when their beliefs (e.g. that I’m a straight-A student) don’t line up with reality (the 72% on my first Old Testament exam). “You’re a smart kid, you just don’t try,” is a much nicer thing to hear than, “you’re just an average kid.”
But guess what? Academics, like any other type of work, are skill based. And, just like any other type of work or capability, they don’t equal your self worth. Saying “I am more than my grades,” to yourself in the mirror every morning would be a great idea, if it weren’t so darn cheesy.
The grade you got on that paper only reflects your ability to communicate a few, specific ideas. The grade you got on that test only reflects how much of a small subset of information you were able to spit out!
There’s one more thing to remember, too. While our gifts and talents in no way indicate our worth as a person, it’s nice to remember that different people have different gifts and talents. Insecurity and anxiety afflict us regardless of how much talent we have. For example, I consider myself very lucky to be dear friends with an extremely talented young man who’s creativity, interpersonal skills and social awareness are unparalleled. But in spite of his supreme talent, he is plagued with anxious thoughts that render him feeling like the worst of the worst, hopelessly behind everyone else. In a fallen world, our brains can be mean to us sometimes.
Learning to do good work is a lifelong process, and if I knew of a surefire step-by-step method to reach your maximum potential I’d give it to you in a heartbeat. But I’m confident that doing our best is God’s will for us, and he’ll bless our efforts to do so.