Tip: All you can do isn’t all you can do!
I am sure every one of us has heard the familiar saying, “Well, all you can do is all you can do!” That is often said as though an individual has exhausted all possibilities and done everything within his or her power to handle a certain situation. If there is anything I have learned in life, it is the fact that everyone can do a little more. I do not say that to place additional guilt or burden on anyone. I just believe that we need to approach each challenge looking for additional ways to make progress.
Can you imagine if that attitude had prevailed in the field of medicine one hundred years ago? Even though there was a limited amount of information and technology available at that time, there was still more research to be done and more opportunity to be explored. Someone thought, “There must be a better solution to this problem!”
Think about the field of aviation. There was a time when the fastest known form of transportation was the train. I can just hear someone complaining as they rattled along on a train from city to city, “This is the best I can do. This is as fast as I can get to where I want to go!” But someone got dissatisfied with that mode of travel. As a matter of fact, a couple of brothers in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, who ran a bicycle shop, decided that “all you can do isn’t all you can do.” They decided they would figure out a way to make transportation faster. Thank you, Orville and Wilbur Wright!
What about in your own personal life? What wall have you recently hit that has made you buy into the untrue philosophy that you have done everything possible in your situation? Have you sought counsel from other friends? Have you searched the internet to find additional information about your current problem, challenge, or issue? Have you talked to someone who is older and wiser than you and asked them how they handled a similar experience in their life? Have you sought spiritual guidance?
I think that most of us get lazy when it comes to solving difficult problems. One of the reasons for that is because it is so painful and hurtful to enter the realm of the unknown. When we do not know what to do in a situation, our mind usually shuts down. Rather than looking for new opportunities and ways to do things, we quickly believe we have exhausted all possibilities before exploring additional options.
I have had the opportunity to care for two close relatives until their deaths. While I was still caring for them, I thought I was being a very good caregiver to the people whom I dearly loved. Of course, there were times when I got frustrated, but I always told myself, “You are doing all you can do. All you can do is all you can do.” Boy was I wrong!
Through some friends’ advice I called an organization called Hospice. I have never seen or met any group of people like that in my life. Talk about angels! They definitely fit the bill. They came into our home and helped like I had never seen help before. They knew what to do in every situation. When my relatives had to actually go to the hospice facility, more help, more care, and more ideas were offered. There was no end to the love, compassion, helpfulness, thoughtfulness, usefulness, and compassion that was shown by that organization. I remember thinking to myself, “I thought I was doing a lot. I really was not doing very much at all.” My own ignorance was part of the reason for that, and some of it was because of the mental block in my head that I was doing all that I could. They quickly taught me otherwise.
As you approach the next challenge in your life that seems very frustrating and gets you down, rather than thinking that you have exhausted all possibilities, ask around and get a fresh perspective on what you are facing. It is one of the biggest blessings you will ever experience in your life to see things that you have not seen before and learn things that you did not previously know. And, in the end, you will be able to do more than you ever thought you could! Just wait and see!
Tip: All you can do isn’t all you can do!
Have a great week! God bless you!
Dr. Robert A. Rohm
