What Does Your Best Self Look Like?
A lot of my clients ask me how to become the best version of themselves with little to no idea of what that would like. Most people have a list of generic descriptors such as more confident, more energetic, and more patient. All of which generally boils down to “more”. I always ask is being “more” you the goal? Is more of who you are the best version of you? Most clients quickly respond “no”, and the real work begins. If a heightened version of yourself is your vision for your best self, then you are one of the lucky ones. Most people have areas of themselves that are underdeveloped or not present. Figuring out what your best self look likes starts with figuring out who you are right now in this moment.
Do you have an objective view of yourself that is honest? Most people don’t and do not know how to develop one. I recommend taking an adjective such as success, defining it, and then applying it to your life. I pick success because most people go too big on this one. There are levels to everything. One level of financial success is the ability to predict how much money you will make. Another is to consistently make enough money to pay your bills. These two layers need to be applied differently to business owners than they do to those who work for a company. When we are defining words, we need to put them in context. For a salaried employee, predicting the wages is easy. For a business owner, it becomes more challenging.
Write down your most vital adjectives for your ideal self. There are no wrong answers as long as you write your truth. Then make a list for your ideal life. Read them every day for a week. Do you still agree with your lists? Did you agree all 7 days? If you did not, then adapt the lists and repeat until you have 7 consecutive days in which you agree with both lists. Now ask yourself; does everything on the ideal list serve you? If there is anything that does not serve you, take it off the list. Which item is the closet to who you are now? That’s the one you start with. Give yourself between 1 and 4 weeks for each item. If you are in a healthy space, this is enough time for each item on the list. Once you complete becoming everything on the lists, celebrate!