Be Your Best Self!

I love that Army commercial “Be All you can be”. You know the jingle. I like it because it’s about being your best you. Of course, they’re implying that the only place to do that is in the army. I don’t agree with that. I believe that you can be your best self everywhere you go. It’s not about the army or even the people around you.

It comes from inside and is a lifelong endeavor. It’s not like riding a bike. You know… once you know how, you can do it forever. It’s about getting better and better as you go along. I believe that once you stop growing and learning, your life is over. Every day offers something new to learn.

When I first became a teacher, I thought that all of my students should be treated equally. By equally I mean exactly alike. It only seemed fair. Over time I learned that treating people the same isn’t fair. They aren’t the same. Some kids are great athletes, some are great at math and others are great writers. The list goes on and on.

When I was a kid, my sister was just a year and a half older than me and everyone treated us the same. (yes, we were occasionally dressed alike.) We weren’t the same. She was bigger and stronger and could always do more than me, so I always felt like I wasn’t good enough. The truth is that I was probably better than I thought. I was just being compared unfairly.

Don’t worry. I survived. I’m not scarred for life, but it did help shape me. I set high expectations of myself. When I was younger, I had an all or nothing attitude and felt like I had to always be better. Over time, I did things that my sister didn’t like to do. As she was athletic, I focused on reading and writing. It was something I liked that she didn’t.

I also learned that it wasn’t about being THE BEST, but doing YOUR BEST. I hope you can learn from my experience. We tend to compare ourselves to others. When we do, we always find ourselves lacking. I think it’s because we’re our own worst critics.

No one else really believed that I had to be equal to my sister when I was a kid. I thought I had to be and just assumed that they did too. The truth is that you don’t have to be perfect; you just have to do your best. You won’t always be the best at everything, but you will be the best at some things. Everyone has a gift of some sort.

The trick is finding out what yours is and developing it. That doesn’t mean that you don’t ever do anything you’re bad at. I’m the worst golfer in the world, but I still like to do it on occasion. I do my best and have fun. I know my limitations in the sport. If I spent more time doing it, I would bet better, but I would rather spend my time doing something else. It’s a choice I make and I’m happy with it.

Knowing that is another step toward being your best self. What are your strengths? Your weaknesses? What do you want to do better? You don’t have to be in the army to be all that you can be. You can be your best self everywhere you go.