5 Tips to Be At Your Best
Published on 19 Jun 2008 at 10:52 am.
5 Comments.
Filed under Business Development, Feature Articles, Personal Development Strategies.
In many coaching sessions, clients express frustration and self-criticism when they feel they have not lived up to the standards (the bar) they have set for themselves in their business or personal life. Often their bar is set at the height of perfectionism which is impossible to realistically reach and still maintain self-esteem and sanity.
The conversation then shifts to striving for excellence rather than perfectionism. Is there a difference? I say yes! Perfectionism lacks compassion and tolerance for humanness. If you have been caught in that box of attempting to be and do everything perfectly, by whose standards? Your own or someone else? It is your life, right?
My definition for excellence is showing up to be your best in any situation. That means being the best person you can be and doing the best you can based on who you are and what’s going on in your life at the time.
For example, if you’ve been under a great deal of stress and are having difficulty coping, you might be abrupt, irritable, or aggressive with people. That might be the best you can be in that moment. Our best changes depending on what going on inside of us.
You might be thinking, “That’s not good enough. I should always strive to be better. It’s unacceptable to make mistakes and let people down (including myself) My boss expects me to excel at my job and if I don’t perform consistently at a high level, my job will be at risk…..”
Do you expect you will ALWAYS be at the top of your game in every situation, 24/7? C’mon – you’re human!
When I do workshops and seminar on this topic, the first thing I ask folks is, “What does it look like to be your best?” I ask them to draw their response as a picture including words, phrases – whatever comes to their mind.
What would you answer? What picture might you create?
Being tired, angry, lonely, and hungry affects how we think, feel and act. Negative self-talk erodes our self-esteem and confident and affects what our “best” looks like. We create stories and dramas in our minds that are painful! And we believe what we are telling ourselves as truth! Refer to my blog post on turning off negative mental chatter
5 Tips to bring out your best:
1. Practice daily gratitude. Feeling joy for the gifts and blessings in your life is a great way to lift your mood especially when feeling fear, stress, weariness, anger….
2. Create a list of the people and things that inspire and boost your spirit. What invigorates, strengthens, and stimulates you positively? Use this list when you are over-reacting, running those negative tapes inside your head (check my blog article), or feeling lost in yourself-created mental stories.
3. Begin to observe your self talk. Be willing to challenge the messages you repeat to yourself and others. Are they really true? Is it possible that what you are saying might be false? What might you choose to tell yourself that would be more encouraging, loving, ….compassionate?
4. When you are not at the best you’d like to be, what needs need attention? A break? Some help? Some fun? To lighten up and let go of being so serious?
5. What opportunities, gifts, and blessings might be overlooked that would invite you expand your viewpoint and response? How might you look at something differently by expanding your lens of perception? In a seemingly negative experience, is it possible there might be something that you might not be seeing?
Accept that your best varies day - to- day depending on the situation and is affected by your energy, mood, and stress levels. Begin each day with the intention of showing up to be the best person you can be and you will always succeed. Every experience offers a growth and healing opportunity to allow more of your best to emerge.
Enjoy the journey 
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To your best
Lorraine
www.powerfull-living.biz
Lola Fayemi / Nourishment for your spiritual awakening on 20 Jun 2008 at 5:32 am: 1
Hi Lorraine
Loving the distinction between perfection and excellence. Very useful.
In love, light and abundance x x x
lorraine on 20 Jun 2008 at 8:46 am: 2
I see folks getting caught up on perfectionisim and unable to appreciate or celbrate who they are and what they do because it’s not “good enough.” Thinking about being your best in a different and more expansive way can be so freeing.
Enjoy your weekend Lola!
Blessings,
Lorraine
Evelyn Lim | Attraction Mind Map on 20 Jun 2008 at 10:44 am: 3
Hey Lorraine,
I like the distinction that you made between perfectionism and excellence. Stress often emerges when we find that we are not living up to our own expectations. We forget that we have made much progress from the starting point; instead we choose to focus on the fact that we have not reached the ideal state yet.
Evelyn
lorraine on 20 Jun 2008 at 1:36 pm: 4
So true Evelyn
The metaphor of the glass half empty/half full comes to mind. When we focus on what we haven’t done well or what we judge to be less than, we miss celebrating all that is right about us and our life!
Have a great weekend
Blessings,
Lorraine
Helene Zemel on 20 Jul 2008 at 1:18 am: 5
Thanks for contributing this post to “Take Charge of Your Health Care Carnival.” These tips will be helpful to my readers.