Remember that your best YOU is not perfect. It doesn’t have to run a marathon and it doesn’t have to cook a new recipe every week.
If you want to do those things, it’s fine, but decide if they fit into your goals for the year. They certainly don’t match mine!
Being your best YOU starts with building a vision of how you want to be and then taking steps toward becoming that.
At my best (Excerpt from Day 89 in my book 100 Days of Weight Loss)
How do you act when you’re living and performing at your best?
When life is going great, what kinds of things are in place for you? What gives you energy or makes you happy?
Remember the days when you felt confident, strong, capable, and able to face challenges head-on.
Even if it’s been years ago, think of times when you were truly at your best in many areas of your life including physically as well as mentally and emotionally.
Think about any times in the past when you were at a healthy weight or were exercising regularly.
“I used to be great!”
We never really lose our characteristics from the past. But as the years go by, we tend to lose sight of our strengths and our gifts.
Sometimes, we start seeing only the parts of ourselves that we don’t like. To bring back the qualities and concepts you’ve lost, remind yourself that you still value them. Then intentionally put them into your life again.
Today’s action step
In your notebook or on your device, write, “At my best, this is what I’m like…” Then list every descriptive word and phrase you can think of that portrays how you act, look, feel, or live when you are at your very best.
As you create your list, think of your best personality traits as well as your skills. Remember that all of these beautiful words remain true even on days when you don’t feel like them.
Read your list out loud and notice the energy and enthusiasm it generates.
Save your list and read it often, especially at times when your self-esteem droops. Remind yourself that all of these phrases are true, regardless of whether or not you actually feel that way.
My own list
On my blog post about this lesson, you’ll see my personal “at my best” list. I love reading this because it always picks me back up when I feel down.
After I review the list, I try to live exactly like those descriptive phrases and it helps me focus on being my best ME.