Do you not know that those who run in a race all run,
but one receives the prize?
Run in such a way that you may obtain it.
1 Corinthians 9: 24
In other words: Do your best to be the best!
Often times I hear people asking why are we on the Earth, in this life, and what is our meaning, our purpose.
This tells all we need to know: Do all you can do, to be your very best!
Lev Semyonovich Vygotsky (1896-1934) a Russian psychologist who developed the theory of human cultural and social development talks about the zone of proximal development (ZPD). He explains it as the zone between what a child can do by herself and what she could do if she is helped by another individual (parent, teacher, more knowledgeable peer). That difference of what one actually does and the maximum potential is the ZPD.
We should strive always to do our best, to reach our maximum potential.