Do your Best to Be Prepared

We never fail when we try to do our duty, we always fail when we neglect to do it. - Col Baden Powell

The Boy Scout motto is "Be Prepared!" It is an command one gives one's self. As you mature in age and are given more and more responsibilities - more school work, more activities that require preparation, more responsibilities around your home - you will discover the importance or being prepared. Nothing helps to drive home this imperative more than neglecting to bring a sleeping bag on a camping trip or an extra pair of socks on a long hike. This responsibility is only magnified when you find yourself responsible for others - as a patrol leader, for example. This is part of what Col. Powell was referring to.



Yet in thinking about the challenges that each of you scouts have in learning to be prepared, I often return to another motto, a motto for albeit young boys but which is nevertheless just as relevant. The Cub Scout motto: Do You Best. Another imperative. Do you do you best when you prepare yourself for the activities and events that you're involved in? Do you do you best when you serve your patrol or the Troop? Do you do your best when you are given instructions by your Patrol Leader, SPL, Scoutmaster or parents? What does doing your best really mean?



I think when Col Powell drew a correlation between NOT trying and failing, version trying and succeeding, he was looking beyond the practical measurements of success. Instead, he was directing us toward the edifying value of preparation and diligence. Do your best to be prepared whenever you have a duty to perform and even though everything might go wrong, you will not have failed in your duty, you will just have a lot of edifying experiences. You might get similar experiences when you do not do your best, but you would have failed for lack of trying.



So now, as you look forward to the next season of scouting, be diligent to think about what your duties are - to yourself, your family, your patrol, your Troop - and Be Prepared! This requires thinking ahead and planning. It also requires a measure of determination and self-discipline.