Almost Does Count... Sometimes

There was song released in 1999 by the artist Brandy, entitled “Almost Doesn’t Count.” In this ballad, she is telling her counterpart how they almost made her love them and almost made her cry; because they almost had her thinking that they had turned around. Unfortunately, they hadn’t and she was tired of waiting for them to get it together. She was ready to move on “because everybody knows that almost doesn’t count.”

In most instances, like in this song, almost isn’t good enough. It usually refers to someone or a situation that didn’t make it past the thinking phrase. “Almost” simply means “thought” in most cases. When a person says, “I almost put out the garbage.” That usually translates to, “I thought about putting out the garbage.” If there had been any physical steps taken to put out the garbage, it would have been done. But this is just one side of the coin. I do believe there are instances where “almost” does count.

My message to you this morning is – “Almost Does Count… Sometimes.”

When a race is run, before the starting gun is shot, everyone knows there will be one 1^st place winner. If only one person can be first, that means everyone else must take another ranking. Therefore, the 2^nd runner-up may have almost won. Now their “almost,” has a more positive spin. They may not have won the race, but they did accomplish something. They didn’t only think about competing and winning, they actually took the steps necessary for competing and ran the race. The same concept goes for a child who scores 85% on an exam. They didn’t get a perfect score, but they did their best. Their “almost” holds value something because they studied and put forth effort to pass the exam.

By trying, you’ve already done more than others. You’ve taken the first step and a chance. You may not have placed 1^st in the race, scored 100% on the exam or perfected driving stick shift your first time around, but you tried. You put forth the effort and will continue trying until you succeed. That makes the difference!

“Almost” isn’t a position to be satisfied with, instead it’s a circumstance to build on.