I have ended several posts with the phrase “continue to become the best version of yourself”. What do I mean by that? Well it is not about dreams and aspirations. It’s about doing your best on a day to day basis. Some people call this striving to reach your full potential. However, striving to reach your full potential is more about achieving your dreams and aspirations. There is nothing wrong with that but that is not what becoming the best version of yourself is all about. Becoming the best version of yourself is about your core true self and mirroring those qualities on a daily basis. It is your internal struggle of becoming who you are as you grow and develop your deepest yearnings and becomes an expression of your personhood, your character and your wholesomeness. This article explores five ways to nurture that best version of yourself. . 1. Become the best version of yourself through personal reflection. In order to become the best version of yourself you need to take the time to go deep within yourself and reflect on who you are. In one way it is about determining what your potential is…that is your potential as a person which is not related to what you do as a person. It is not about achievement which relates to your goals, action plans and tasks you complete so that you can reach your full potential but more about how you wish to live with purposeful intent. It is about discovering the decent qualities you exhibit or want to exhibit, the universal values you hold and how you carry those out daily. The only way you can get at that type of personhood is through honest reflection. One other thing. When you go deep within yourself you may find that you uncover negative aspects of your life – the hurts and the uncomfortable feelings you have about yourself and others. When you are faced with this mirror don’t be afraid of what you are finding. This part of your journey may be gut wrenching and it takes courage to work through it. It is through this process where you will begin to heal, become whole and forgive yourself and others. If you need help with this aspect of your journey seek professional help. 2. Become the best version of yourself by writing your own story. After you have spent some time reflecting on who you are and what you believe sit down and write out your story. Let your story unfold as to who you think you are and who you want to become. In your story put aside your ego because your ego will play tricks on you. It will try to describe you in unrealistic terms, either through self glorification or false humility. You will get caught up in lying to yourself. The best way to ensure you are being honest is to share your story with a trusted friend, colleague or coach. Ask them to be honest with you about how they perceive who you are. Listen deeply to them as they tell you your story. Engage them in an open discussion of clarification and dialogue. After all it is your story and you need to fully understand it. 3. Become the best version of yourself by living in the moment. Yes, you plan for the future but you can only live in the future today. You make your future a reality on a daily basis by living in the moment. Don’t get me wrong your plans are important. They chart direction for you particularly if they are realistic. meaningful and give you a step-by-step approach to achieve where you want to go in life. But you can only carry out your plans, no matter how far they reach out into the future, today. Not only in the space we call today, like 24 hours - or even in the space we call morning, afternoon or evening - but only in the precious moment in which you spend the time in fulfilling them. It’s in that moment where you expend the energy in carrying out your best effort as a person. And each of those moments stack up as a monument to your character. 4. Become the best version of yourself by making sound choices. It is in making choices that reflect your true self. If you are choosing with integrity, honesty, fairness, justice and forgiveness you will be mirroring the goodness that is at the root of who you are. It’s not about making quick choices to accommodate shady deals or questionable characters, but to think about the choice and do the right thing. Sometimes this requires quiet discernment to ensure you are making the right choice. In the end your choices reveal the type of life you choose to lead and who you are as a person. 5. Become the best version of yourself by surrounding yourself with good people. We can often tell a person’s character by the people he/she associates with. Here I’m not talking about the customer that comes to you in what appears to be unrulily or disheveled condition. Nor am I talking about acquaintances that pass through your life like ships passing in the night. These are temporary happenings where we give whoever they are respect, dignity and loving service. What is meant here are the people you admire, appreciate for their genuineness, and who will guide you as you continue throughout life to grow into the best version of yourself. In conclusion… we can become the best version of ourselves if we believe we can truly become the person we are meant to be. Believing in your own best version is essential in building your confidence, strengthening your relationships and living a life of purpose beyond yourself. But it is not necessarily easy. It is something we have to work at and prove to ourselves that we can live the best version of ourselves. It is in the way we live that we eventually become our true self. And because of that, people will be able to describe us, hopefully as a force for good in this world, our community and our neighborhood. When we think about it, when we work at becoming the best version of ourselves we are strengthening skills in our ability to be reflective, write stories, live in the moment, make choices and surround ourselves with good people. It’s a serious business of character building while at the same time fulfilling our destiny. If you want to delve further into this topic consider “Become The Best Version of Yourself” found in the FM Storefront. Thank you for reading and as always take care, stay safe and continue becoming the best version of yourself. Richard.
0 Comments
Sometimes I don’t know which tab to place certain articles. This is one of those times. This topic could fit under the Spiritual Discovery tab or this tab. I have chosen both. Why? Because strengthening our spiritual muscle takes effort, focus and personal work. It takes a certain psychological skill to develop spiritual awareness. Spirituality matters. However, it is a personal journey and may mean different things for different people. What I do know is that often my past work bordered on the spiritual, especially when I focused in on one’s sense of purpose and values. Often people would grow silent and then tentatively approach some of their inner feelings about how they carried out their values. Some conversations uncovered a broken spirit that cried out for healing, others stimulated deep spiritual thoughts about personal growth and development. In general spirituality has certain qualities that reflect: a sense of purpose, inner peace, joy, humility, religious observance (not religiosity), and, an openness toward a greater good, compassion, mercy and forgiveness. Ways to develop our spiritual muscle Nature walks: Getting in touch with the beauty of nature touches our spiritual core. A beautiful sunset in the evening, a gorgeous sunrise, the colors of the leaves in the Fall or the budding of trees and the rejuvenating ground flowers in Spring often bring a sense of awe within us. Walking is not only healthy for our physical body but also for our spiritual wellbeing. A friend suggested she captured a sense of her smallness and a touch of the divine as she walked under a canopy of trees on a dusty trail. She was struck by the beauty of the moment. In my book, Eternal Unfolding, one of the scenes goes like this: “Julech took in the silence of the forest, broken from time to time with the harsher sounds of magpies, blue jays and crows and with softer songs of the chickadees, wrens, nut hatchers and juncos. Joining the bird songs were the rat-a-tat-tats of woodpeckers, the fluttering of the grouse and the occasional trill of a grosbeak. His olfactory nerves were tingling with the smells of spruce, firs, pines, junipers and alders. There were the aromas of fallen acorns, pine needles and rotting logs…As he walked, he reflected on the spiritual insights…” Gratefulness: Ancient wisdom people, philosophers, religious leaders and spiritual writers tell us that gratitude is the basis for strengthening our relationship with God (or a power greater than us) and one another, as well as improving our wellbeing. Intuitively they knew this and speak eloquently about it. Today we have a growing body of scientific evidence that supports what appeared to be naturally known. In the past I had identified a number of scientific findings about gratitude and how we can apply it in our places of work, business and personal lives. If so inclined you can read the article here. Volunteering: In religious parlance we often say share your time, talent or money to those less fortunate. I know too many people who don’t have two nickels to rub together but they are the first to volunteer their time and talent. They often say that it feels good to help others less fortunate. How ironic. And, I know many who have several nickels to rub together but don’t share time, talent nor money with those who they consider “beneath them.” Volunteering within one’s community lifts others up and in return lifts the person up. In giving one receives, perhaps more than what he or she has given. We know this by the comments we receive from those that give within their communities. In the process there is something spiritual going on within them, a link whether they know it or not, with the love that is universal and beyond them. Listening to a religious messages: Some people have difficulty with listening to a homely or a sermon as they view the person (preacher) as a bit of a hypocrite. They don’t see the person’s behavior reflecting the message. In a sense they are saying the medium is the message. I have yet to hear a true religious message that suggests that one should go against principles that are considered universal truths. The message is usually about avoiding those things that hurt us spiritually, mentally and physically, encouraging compassionate behavior, forgiving one another, strengthening one’s better self. Religious messages are most often positive affirmations of caring for one self, neighbor and community. All of these messages should cause us to ponder how they could apply to us individually and collectively and in the end strengthens our spiritual core. Spiritual reading: In many ways our modern technology encourages us to dart from one thing to another. Our emails, ease of access to information, and internet explorations, text messaging, Facebook, Instagram and the like shortens our attention to small bites of information. We flit, where as spiritual reading causes us to stop and ponder our deeper selves and our connection to someone or something beyond us. Books that explore men and women of spiritual conviction and purpose and carry that out in their everyday lives become role models. Wisdom found in ancient and modern writings give food for thought and provide profound insight to what we may consider improbable solutions to what ails us, our community and our world. Taking some time to read something spiritually everyday will tend to slow us down, reduce our stress and in the end strengthen our spiritual muscle. There are many other ways to strengthen our spirituality including meditating, having healthy relationships with others, taking compassionate action, engaging with a spiritual adviser, having coffee with a friend while exploring spiritual matters, joining groups that encourage spiritual discussions, and working at being non-judgmental. In short, we have ample opportunity in our everyday lives to go beyond the ordinary and touch our spiritual core. Thanks for reading, Richard P. Fontanie, |
Categories
All
Archives
February 2024
|