To give your best in everything you do, you have to become the best version of yourself.
Personal development is the key to becoming your best self. You may see a lot of successful people on YouTube, and you think to yourself, damn, how can I beat that?
Honestly, you’re not in a competition with anyone else. You’re just competing with yourself. You gotta put your blinders on, and focus on becoming the best version of yourself. As a result, you will find yourself naturally giving your best in everything you do.
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What is doing your best?
Doing your best means giving 100% of your effort, skills, and time to whatever it is that you’re doing at the present moment or the goals you set out to achieve.
Focus on giving 100% of your time, effort, skills, and attention to things that are worthwhile doing. If you can’t give 100%, avoid doing them, or don’t do them at all.
Doing your best isn’t about taking shortcuts because the only person you’re cheating is yourself.
You might think that you’re cheating the person you’re transacting with or the benefactor of your effort but then really, you only have yourself to cheat.
You may feel that the other person or your employer gets the inferior end of the bargain, but by not putting in your best effort, you’re actually missing out on the opportunity to challenge yourself and further your knowledge and skills.
On the other hand, doing your best doesn’t mean perfection because no one is perfect but by consistently doing your best, you’ll gain expertise, then achieve greatness.
Why Should You Give Your Best?
The reason why you should give your best in everything that you do isn’t that it makes you feel good about yourself or that it will make you successful.
Success and feeling good about yourself are byproducts of your best self but as to why we should give our best in everything we do is far more than our own personal interests.
Rather, it’s about the impact that our actions have on the people around us, and maybe on the world.
If we collectively give our best and develop our best selves, then we can leave a much better world for our next generation.
Giving your best also means being a productive member of society and doing what’s necessary for those around us. By doing so, we’re fulfilling our responsibility towards them which helps build a strong moral fiber that we can continue to build upon in the future.
18 Ways to Give Your Best In Everything You Do
There are many ways in how you can give your best in everything you do. It requires a change of mindset and a change in how you see yourself.
In other words, it requires a little bit of re-invention, i.e. re-inventing oneself. If you’re someone who’s naturally lax and you just do things for the sake of doing them, you know, “clock in, clock out”; you have to reinvent your identity.
Well, this doesn’t mean that you have to change how you dress or how you look, start from the inside, it’s less costly!
Focus on the Present Moment
I’m guilty of focusing on too many things, and I’m someone who naturally focuses on working toward the future, which means that I often miss enjoying what’s right in front of me.
I’ve learned that in order for one to give your utmost best in everything you do, you have to focus on the specific thing that you’re doing at the present. Focusing on the future or the other things that you have to do sacrifices the result of your current task.
If you want to give your best in everything you do, you have to focus on the present task, work on it with your full attention and only focus on another task after this one is achieved.
In our personal lives, it’s also important to focus on the present moment. Not tomorrow, not 10-years from now; TODAY!
By focusing our thoughts on the future, we miss out on the beauty of life as we can’t seem to feel content with what’s happening right now, and it often leads us towards feeling unfulfilled in our lives because we’re always looking forward and fail to enjoy the present moment.
Becoming a Better Person Inside Out
Personal development is important, it helps you become the best version of yourself.
Far too many people grow old in age but not in wisdom.
If you want to give your best in everything you do, you can’t grow old without getting wiser or smarter, you have to proactively seek ways to improve yourself.
This doesn’t mean that you have to become an overachiever, it just means that every day should continually pursuit self-improvement, both in mind and spirit.
Stop trying to get things the easy way, instead focus on getting better.
As Jim Rohn puts it…
“Don’t wish it were easy, wish you were better!”
Personal development also means that you have to focus on giving the utmost value out of your actions, instead of focusing on what you can get.
Based on my experience, what you get follows, when you give your best service to your craft or the people you serve.
Trying to get the best end of the deal will not make you a better person, especially when it’s at the expense of someone else. It may temporarily fatten your wallet but ultimately it doesn’t develop the “giving your best” attitude, which is far more important in the long run.
When you consciously exert the effort to give your best in everything you do, you develop the habit, then it becomes naturally part of your work ethic.
Always Commit 100%
When I was younger, I’ve heard that if you’re going to do it anyway, you might as well give your 100% into it.
Either you give your best or not do it at all.
It’s quite simple, yet too many people do work just so others see that they’re doing it. They clock in and clock out but they’re not doing enough to impact their work or environment.
When you’re giving 100% of yourself to something, it equates to giving your best. You might feel that you’re not giving enough when you’re new to something, that’s because you lack the skillset but by doing so, you’re developing your skills, and mind you, experience is such a good teacher, especially when you take a mental note of how you fail or why something didn’t work, then progress from it.
To give 100%, consciously commit yourself to the task at hand, do the work and make an impact to get the best results from your efforts.
When you commit 100% to something worth doing, you always give your best and there are no regrets whatever the results are.
Invest In Yourself
Working on yourself is how you become the best version of yourself.
Invest in yourself!
I couldn’t emphasize enough the importance of investing in yourself but whenever one hears this advise, be forwarned to take this with a grain of salt.
There are a lot of business and self-improvement webinars, seminars, and “free info sessions”, that you’re going to attend where you’re also advised to “invest in yourself”, then later be sold into a $30,000.00 real estate investing course, or the $2,000.00 a online business course.
Most of these gurus prey into people’s need of knowledge and self-improvement.
You can invest yourself but you don’t need to borrow money to afford these get rich quick courses. You just can’t buy success, I’ve found that the best way of learning is by doing!
Rather, invest more in personal development books, I don’t have a Netflix subscription but what I do have is YouTube Premium and Audible, both of which help me learn on the go.
Books help you learn from people who are more successful and experienced than you. You can also learn from YouTube videos but be careful who you follow because most YouTubers in the personal development and business niches exaggerate things for views, and about half of them are flakes.
Focus on Improving Your Knowledge and Skills
Branching out from investing in yourself, you have to focus your efforts on improving your knowledge and skills.
Nowadays, information abounds, it’s just a matter of tuning in the right frequency.
The world operates in frequencies, which ones you choose to line yourself with defines your beliefs, work ethics, and direction.
If you watch or listen to the news twice a day, you’re putting yourself in a position for disaster.
If you believe that only bad things and that no good will ever happen to you, it will manifest in your reality.
You are what you think, so if you think that you’re not good enough, then you are not good enough.
Focusing on improving your knowledge and skills puts you in a winning position. The more knowledge and skills you have, the easier life gets, and the more you can achieve.
Reading books and taking courses is one of the things you can keep on learning, expand your knowledge, and develop your skills.
Practice is important too, learning is half the battle, you have to put your knowledge into action, then and only then you can acquire mastery.
Practice Your Craft, Everyday
Practice doesn’t make perfect but it does make someone really good at what they do.
If you commit to only doing your best in everything you do, and you do this day in and day out in the next 10-years; you would have mastered the art of giving only your best, then it becomes a craft on its own.
Taking the time to practice your craft will help you become better over time.
Anynew undertaking may seem difficult at the start but if you keep on doing it, it gets easier, then you become an expert.
The better you become at doing things, the more confident you become, and you can only achieve this by consistent practice.
Take Initiative
I get frustrated with people who don’t know how to take initiatives.
Your brain is such a powerful machine, use it to take initiatives at work or on your personal goals.
Taking initiatives mean that you’re using your intellect, and all those personal development efforts you’ve put in will start to pay off.
Taking initiatives will also give you the opportunity to grow as a person and improve yourself in the process. You’ll be able to learn how to be a better leader, how to take risks, how make better decisions in your personal and professional life.
Stop Wasting Time
Time is more important than money. Not many people realize this but it is.
We need to be mindful of where we spend our time. You can make more money but you can’t make more time.
On average, a person would only live 28,000 days, yet most people spend their time doing unproductive things. Don’t wast yours, focus instead on being productive or spending it with the people you love.
Ask Questions, or Help
Asking questions and help isn’t always easy but it’s far better than not asking at all.
I’ve always been ashamed to ask questions when I was in school because I was trained to be an independent learner but I’ve learned that it’s okay to be ignorant for 5 minutes than be ignorant for a lifetime.
Keep in mind that no one has a monopoly on knowledge. It doesn’t mean that you’re not intelligent enough, it just means that you didn’t know yet about certain things.
Consistently Challenge Yourself to Do Better
Challenge yourself every day to do better than you did the day before. By doing so, it’ll help push your limits by constantly setting and reaching new goals.
It’s important to consistently put yourself into situations that others can only dream of because it’s really a great feeling to do what most people deem impossible.
Don't be a Copycat
While it’s good to be inspired by those who have achieved great things, it’s not good to copy how they do everything.
You have to focus on giving each task your utmost efforts instead of trying to copy others.
To become successful, we have to find out how they did what they did and emulate their process while also making sure to take our own spin on how we want to go about doing something.going for those that are rooting us on from the sidelines.
It's a Process, Trust the Process
Success has a process, and so is developing the habit to give your best in all things you do.
If you’re not used to giving your best and would want to develop the habit, you have to push yourself to consciously give your best each time, after a while, it becomes second nature. It becomes part of your reality, then it gets ingrained in your personality.
Focus on Your "Why"
They say that everyone has a purpose for being in this world, and with an average lifespan of 28,000 days, it’s important to focus on your “why”.
Why are you doing this? What’s your life’s purpose in this world? Are you just here to make a living, pay bills, retire then wait for your exit, or are you here to make an impact and achieve great things?
Every day, you must know your “why”, and you have to put your life’s work toward achieving that great and ultimate “why”.
Never forget why you’re doing what you do so you can consistently give your best!
To help you stay motivated, keep your “why” in mind at all times. Why exactly do you want to become the best version of yourself? What is it that drives you? Once you know this, then it becomes easier to chase your dreams because you’re staying grounded and keeping true to who you are.
Meditate and Listen to Your Mind Every Day
Meditation is an important part of how we can give our best on everything that we do with consistency.
Don’t let your mind wander and don’t think about how you’re going to do the next thing. Just focus on how you are feeling in that moment and allow all thoughts to come up without judgment or resistance.
Just listen to your mind, as per Naval Ravickant, meditation is intermittent fasting for the mind.
Do it daily, in the morning, or before you sleep.
I make my affirmations and meditations each morning before I rise and it has helped me maintain a calmer existence.
Make a Journal and Write Your Thoughts
Journaling is good for one’s mental health. Just like meditating, writing your thoughts down will help you get clarity. It will also help you become more creative, and well, improve your writing skills.
Journaling keeps us grounded and for many, it’s a great way to take a break from their crazy by being one with their thoughts, and writing them as they come. It helps us realize what the important things in life really are and how you should never lose sight of that because your days can go by so quickly and before you know it, they’re just memories.
Set Outrageous Goals and Reasonably Achieve them
By setting outrageous goals, you’ll be forcing yourself to push harder and work smarter in achieving each task.
If your goal isn’t outrageous enough, you won’t feel the need to strive hard enough because you can achieve so-so goals by giving average efforts so it doesn’t really help you develop into your best self.
They say that to achieve great things, one has to be great. As Les Brown puts it.
You don’t have to be great to get started, but you have to get started to be great.
In resonance with this quote, you don’t have to be great to set outlandish goals, you just have to set them even when you don’t think that you’re great enough. Soon enough, you’ll be achieving goals you didn’t think you’re capable of achieving at the start.
Get Rid of Your Comfort Zone
The number one reason most people can’t give their best is that their limiting beliefs limit them on how much how they can do.
We need to get rid of our comfort zones and push ourselves because it’ll bring out how best we can be as a person, which will then show how well-rounded we are in who we become.
Challenging yourself to go out of your comfort zone will develop a new reality in your subconscious.
Far too many people don’t achieve what they’re meant to achieve because they’re far too scared to pick up and phone and make the call or that they’re far too afraid to step on the stage and make that speech.
Finally, Take a Break
It’s important to give yourself a break every now because we can’t constantly go at this nonstop. When we’re giving our best, it’s important to recharge and make sure that we are taking care of ourselves. Remember how much time and effort has been put into achieving this goal so far? Give yourself a pat on the back for how hard you’ve worked!
This is where breaks do come in handy because they help us clear our minds and take a step back from how much we’ve been working. It also gives us the opportunity to relax and do what makes us happy, which is important for mental health as well.
Life isn’t always about work. You have to sharpen the ax too, by stepping away and doing something fun, something that’s good for your mind, body, and perhaps your spirit.
When you come back, you’re going to approach the fires you’re trying to put out with a fresher mind, attitude, and a renewed spirit.
