How to be Your Best Self

Change is not easy.  As humans, it is our instinct to avoid and distrust change.  We like things to go the way they have been going because it seems stable and secure.  Unfortunately, it’s not always better to take the easy way out and do what feels comfortable.  Change is hard, but it is also necessary (especially if you want to make things better than they were before).

One of the first and best things that you should attempt to change is yourself.  Nobody is perfect, and one’s goal shouldn’t necessarily be perfection.  In fact, perfection is not a good goal to strive for because it is impossible to achieve.  When working to make yourself into a better person, one of the first things you should tell yourself is that you are not perfect, but that is perfectly all right.

If you are really serious about becoming the best person you can be, there are five things to keep in mind before you start and while you are making the change.

1. Know What Makes A Person “Better”

Like I said before, perfection is not an achievable goal.  This is largely because everyone has a different idea about what a “perfect” person would be like.  The only person’s standards you should live by are your own.  I purposefully said that you should try to become the best person you can be.  Only you can say who that person is.

When determining this, think about your definition of perfection.  What characteristics are important to you and who you want to be?  Similar to the notion of asking, “what would Jesus do?” find an ideal model that you can work from so that, when faced with a situation where the course of action one should take is unclear, you can stop and think about what your ideal, perfect self would do.

It may be difficult to actually take the “correct” or “ideal” action, and you won’t always be able to, but it is important to keep in mind what you are working toward.  Knowing your weaknesses will help inform what changes must be made in your life to make these actions easier to take.

2. Know Why You Want To Be Better

Think about what your motivation is because that’s what is going to help push you to be where you want to be.  Be sure your motivating factor is something that you can really hold on to and get inspiration from, even in tough times.  An example of a “good” motivation would be “I want to be a better father to my kids.”  That is a fairly respectable goal.