Random thoughts: what does "done my best" means?

I think we heard the sentence "I have done my best" rather frequently.

What does "best" entails?

Perhaps the opposite of doing best for something is doing something "effortlessly", and most of the time, the domain is in "efforts" not "results"

So, it is not actually a good thing to hear this sentence. It is used either as a explanation or excuse, the difference behind them is The validity of the reason.

So what is best effort?

Usually it means discomfort or even pain has already set in in the pursuit, or something is already sacrificed in that pursuit and a significant tradeoff has taken place.

However, everyone has a different threshold of pain and that boundary can be pushed. So best can be "more best" if one is willing to sacrifice more and endure more "pain"

The problem is it is not easily sustainable but without doing "best" we don't push our boundary and threshold.

And every "best" shot is like a marker, makes us pause and think: should I go on like this, and is the trade-off worth it.

We all have a choice. The choice might not be available to us immediately or in the short term.

But if i think about it, there is no such thing as we have done our best, u less we are talking about the immediate present. 

Have u done your best for the day? I think I did. Have I done my best as a son, or father? I will only know years later.