Happiness is…being your best self

Happiness is…being your best self

"Being Your Best Self" by Lou Tice

What is the difference between being yourself and being your "best" self?

Some time ago, a young woman came up to me and asked an important question. She said,

"Everyone is always telling me to just be myself," she said. "But I can be so many different 'me's.'  How do I know which self is the best way to be?"

You know, she is right. All of us have many possible selves. Some aspects of our personalities are active and obvious, and these aspects we call current reality, or who we are right now. But there are many other possibilities, or possible selves, that we can strengthen and bring into current reality, if we choose to.

Let me ask you something. What is your best self like? Can you list the qualities that make "you at your best" different from the ordinary, everyday you? Because once you bring these qualities into your awareness, into your consciousness, you can deliberately set out to make your everyday self more like your best self.

Using the techniques of affirmation, visualization, and control of your self-talk, it is relatively easy to do. You see, we move toward and become like that which we think about. Where thought goes, energy flows. It's a matter of managing your mind.

So focus on those aspects of yourself that you would like to see more of, do it in a systematic way, and do it over and over, every day. Soon, being yourself will adjust automatically, meaning you will be being your best self.

Lou Tice – The Pacific Institute (www.thepacificinstitute.com)