The word of God describes the youth stage as being full of vigour and strength. Although I don’t consider myself out of this stage yet, I still look back at my late teens and early twenties when I could have committed to doing a lot more of the activities than I have. But I think this kind of regret will catch up on us no matter how best used our days are or how old we get. Nevertheless, looking back I have failed to pursue many an activity for fear of being mediocre in it. I got so used to this state of mind that it soon became my natural strategy and attitude to almost everything I approached in life. As I grew older (and wiser!) perfection was not a positive attribute any longer but a hurdle in my way and my list of to do things kept growing.
My friends, today I would urge you to take the plunge and partake in all things that are thrown at you or interests you and not worry about how good you're going to end up being in it. As the word of God says, the horse is made ready for the battle but the victory belongs to the lord. Just commit yourselves to the various things you would like/have to do, be it an exam, a certification program, a gym class, an impending book, adventure sport - be it as trivial or as ground breaking in your life, just put in the time and effort into it. It is also necessary to take part in the battle every so often as it is only when you face it that a lot of things are uncovered. When Paul spoke about running the race, he had then set quite a record in running such races and was a seasoned runner by then. His training and practice had taken him to prison, got him nearly killed on numerous occasions after which he got to the point of perfecting it. So let not the art of perfecting you stop from partaking any challenges brought forward in your lives.
The things that are thrown at us are designed to make us a well rounded skilled warrior ready for the battle. And if we call it quits before accomplishing it, we might end up never learning.