Many of us have been taught to strive for being number 1, to be the best at whatever we do. There are certain things in life where it is not possible to be the best, simply because there is no best. One thing that is certain is that it is possible to be your best self, meaning the best person you can possible be. Let me explain…
- In a 100m sprint you can be the best by completing it in the quickest time.
- In a math exam you can be the best by getting the most answers correct.
- As a builder you can be the best by building the most brick walls of the highest quality.
In life, you can be the best by being your best self and living the best possible life you can. I can’t tell you what that best life is. Some people want to put together a fortune. Some people want fame. Some people want to make an impact on the lives of others. Some people want world peace and make it a mission to achieve that. I think that you be your best self by going after your dreams and living up to your full potential.
You Are Capable Of More Than You Think
You may not know what you are capable of. You are capable of much more than you think. You are definitely capable of determining the fact if you are or if you are not living up to your full potential. Are you happy? Are you achieving what you want to achieve? Are you content that you have reached your dreams?
If not, then you should get off your backside and continue working on yourself to be the best possible person that you can be, every single day. Life is a constant journey of discovery, learning, progress, failure, happiness, disappointments and successes. If you take things a day at a time, little by little, then over time you will make huge progress. Don’t aim for the overnight change, this is an illusion or at best reserved for a very lucky few.
There Is No Absolute Best
I’m going to use the following example to explain to you why in some cases there is no absolute best, there is no absolute number 1.
I’m going to give you a choice of a Ferarri, an off-road Jeep, a tractor, and a bus.
Now let me ask you: Which of the above vehicles is the best?
Maybe the obvious choice without thinking would be the Ferarri but with some closer inspection that is not the case. None of the above is an absolute best. In fact, every one of the above vehicles is the best in a certain situation.
- On the racetrack or escaping from someone who wants to kill you or even an appearance at a Hollywood party the Ferarri takes the title of ‘Best’.
- Having to cross a sandy dessert to get to the next town then the offroad Jeep is the best.
- For agriculture purposes to grow crops and prepare the soil, the tractor is the best.
- For transporting mass amounts of people in one go, the bus is the best.
Life Has No Absolute Best
Just like the above examples, the same principle applies to people and life. There is no ‘best’ person and no ‘best’ life. There is no-one that has the best life in the world and every-one else’s life is less fun to live. Every person is unique and different. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. Some people are the best at physical work, others are better at fighting, others are better at sport, others are better at math and problem solving.
Some people advocate working on your weaknesses to get them to the same level as your strengths. This is especially true in schools. If you’re good writing and English, but bad at science and math, teachers put pressure on you to get better at math and science. I don’t believe in this.
I believe in taking your strengths and developing those to incredible levels. Take your natural talent and work on that to turn yourself into a champion at that talent. Do not try and get better at your weaknesses and things you have no passion for just to become a better all-rounder.
I like to take the approach of not striving to be better than everyone else in the world at the expense of not enjoying life. I take the approach of being the best person I can be, constantly improving myself and making myself better while enjoying all that life has to offer. My passion and my drive to become good at the things I want to become good at is enough inspiration and motivation to become the best, although that is not my first intention.
Just like with blogging, or with artists or musicians. Many of the top of their leagues all started out because they were passionate and loved what they did. Their aim was not to become rich or famous, that was a side-effect of their passion, dedication and perseverance.
Unleash the Champion Within You
I believe that every single person on this planet has something that they can become really good at. Not just really good, but ‘among the top of the world’ good. Every single person has the potential to be a champion. That champion is already inside of you, you just have to wake him up.
It is a shame that so many people live their lives without ever living up to their full potential. I don’t claim that I am the best person I can be. In fact, I know I am not, but I am working towards it every single day.
You can become better at anything you put time, energy and effort into. Just because you are not good at something does not mean that you cannot get good at it. Some of the best people in the world used to really suck at what they are now so good at. As Will Smith once said:
“Talent is something you are born with, but skill takes hours upon hours upon hours of incredible effort to achieve”
Less is More
One mistake I had made for the last couple of years is that I would always do too many things at a time. This resulted in being a Jack of all trades but a master of none.
I tried to become good at 3 instruments at once, 5 sports at once, I tried to build 20 websites at the same time, and tried to learn 3 professions simultaneously. The result was (as you can guess) that I never became really good at any of these things and I lost interest in them because I just did not have enough energy and inspiration to keep doing everything at once.
This was my situation until I decided to focus on a maximum of two things at a time. Two sports, one instrument, one profession, one blog. Sure, there are less things that I am becoming good at, but less is more. By cutting down on all my projects and by choosing only one or two that I am really passionate about, the chance is much bigger that I will excel at what I do.
If you are doing the same and spreading yourself too thin, take some time off to look at your life objectively. Choose one or two things that you are good at or passionate about and focus on those one or two things only. You have a champion within you. Get out there and unleash him (or her).
Photo by photo61guy
Hey Peter!
Thanks for the opportunity to post on TheChangeBlog!
I really hope your readers will enjoy it :)
All the best!
Diggy
Great post Diggy! I’m with you, I believe on leaning into your strengths and not spreading yourself to thin and of course passion is the main fuel.
Diggy,
Definitely some interesting points here. On things/people that are the best, I think your point here is spot on. The circumstances really are the determining factor. To one person you might be the best writer on the web, while to another maybe not. But it really doesn’t matter. Absolutes are really a narrow minded view of things.
On Less is more, it’s kind of like quality over quantity. I have two main projects that I work on BlogcastFM and Skool of Life. The result of BlogcastFM was that my publishing schedule on Skool of Life slowed down, but it’s like you said, trying to do too many things at once spreads you thin. I think if you focus your efforts in a limited number of things you are not only more present you tend to do those things better.
Hey Srinivas!
Personally I like being able to do a lot of things reasonably well. It allows me to get a lot done without relying on getting other people to do it for me.
Of course, I do have a couple of things where I focus most my energy on, and as a result get really good at them.
Try to focus on 1-2 big projects at a time, otherwise you end up doing a lot of work but not really making big progress in a single place.
:)
Diggy, great post, lots to think about! One thing that I also believe is that it’s ok to be “good enough” at some things. I hate public speaking but end up needing to make presentations once in a while. So I practiced enough to be able to speak when I needed to but didn’t try for excellence. Now I can speak when I need to but my focus remains on my first love – writing.
Melinda
Hey Melinda!
Thank you, it’s nice to hear that you enjoyed the post!
I agree with you, it’s good to be good enough at a lot of things, just in case you are confronted with having to do it yourself and nobody else can help you out.
Thanks for commenting!
Hi Diggy.
There sure are different bests. I like your vehicles example because that relates well to people. One person thinks person X is the best, while another person thinks person Y is the best, and neither is actually wrong.
I spread myself too thin less and less over time, because I have seen the downfalls of doing so. There is always the easy example to analyze, of one person who tries 10 things 1/10 as much, and the person who tries 1 thing with most of his capacity, and the latter individual later comes out ahead for various reasons, including big experience, a clear vision, and so on. This is often where we learn something, when we tell ourselves “he/she beat me because of ____”.
Cool stuff.
Hey Armen!
Yeah I had the problem with spreading myself too thin and am still tempted to do it sometimes when I hear of all the possibilities and things that other people are busy with that I wanna do too.
Thanks for commenting! :)
I love what you said about there not being an absolute best. I totally agree that we should all look within for what makes us special–what is great about us–and then take it to the most incredible level that we can.
Hey Nea!
That’s the idea! Glad you like it!
Hi Diggy,
I am also a victim of the Jack of all trades, master of none mentality. It is just so hard to cut out interesting things. Unfortunately, that lack of discipline has meant stagnating at many things.
Hey John!
Yeah it does indeed take discipline to say no if you’ve already got enough on your plate, but if you focus your time and energy on just 1 or 2 projects, you’ll be amazed at the progress you can make.
Cheers!!
Diggy, thanks for this and for the reminder that you won’t achieve your potential from doing too much stuff. The switching of the brain leaves to too much dead time and you font excel at anything.
It’s unlikely anyone will ever be really good at anything they suck at, no matter how hard they try. I think Will Smith is suggesting that talent alone is not enough – a necessary but not sufficient condition for excellence. It’s important that we identify our strengths and invest in cultivating what we have a natural, God given aptitude for, rather than wasting precious time and energy trying to become good at what we (naturally) suck at. Obviously, everyone has strengths, and it’s a matter of identifying them, and respecting and valuing them enough to invest the time, energy and resolve to get through the inevitable frustration that goes along with any process of learning, development and progress. It’s important to know who you are, and respect that person enough to choose to be the best at what you do, and not just “good enough”. Really, it’s pretty simple: know yourself, respect yourself, follow your heart and work hard.
Those are my thoughts.
Thanks for the topic! I am in a season of my life where I am tired of letting life run me instead of me running my life. I have been pursuing new experiences and am riding a great “wave” of personal achievement and satisfaction. The interesting phenomena occuring around me is that people are either energized by what is going on in my life and are pursuing their own goals/dreams, or they are negative and almost bitter! Sometimes it feels like a lonely road, but I am fully engaged in life and loving every second of it! Just thinking that being a champion is about focus and determination. There will be plenty of circumstances that will cause you to question what direction you are headed, but stay focused on what you truly want…you will get there! :)