MAY 27, 2022
Last week we talked about making assumptions. The way to keep yourself from making assumptions is to ASK QUESTIONS. Make sure the communication is clear. If you don’t understand, ASK because everybody has the right to ask. This is difficult to do because we so often do the opposite. We have all these habits and routines that we are not even aware of. (Try practicing Self-Awareness with Self-reflection) Becoming aware of these habits and understanding the importance of not making assumptions is the first step. But understanding the IMPORTANCE of not making assumptions is not enough. As we said, information or an idea is merely the seed in your mind. What really makes the difference is ACTION.
If you are growing by taking action, you should “Always Do Your Best.” Under any circumstances, always do your best. Keep in mind that your best may not be the same from one moment to the next. Make sure you are in a good mood (Attitude) and healthy enough to see yourself through the day. (Energy and Enthusiasm) Regardless of the quality, keep doing your best. No more, no less. This means you are willing to live your life intensely. (Not stressfully though) Doing your best is taking the action because you LOVE it, not because you are expecting a reward. Most people do exactly the opposite. They only take action when they expect a reward, and they don’t enjoy the action. Don’t suffer in your work or you will end up hating yourself and others.
When you do your best, you learn to accept yourself. (Amor Fati) BUT, you have to be aware and learn from your mistakes. We ALL will make mistakes in life. Forgive yourself (and others) and move on or it will consume you and lead you to take the wrong kinds of action. Look honestly at the results of your action and keep practicing which will only increase your own awareness of the situation. Once you get into your groove, doing your best doesn’t really feel like work because you enjoy what you are doing. If you take action because you have to, then there is no way you are going to do your best. ACTION is about living fully. Inaction is the way we deny living out the best version of ourselves.
I recently watched one of my favorite movies of all time; “Forest Gump.” Forest wasn’t afraid to express himself. He didn’t have great ideas, but he took action. He was happy because he always did his best at whatever he did. He was richly rewarded without expecting any reward at all. By taking action, Forest was totally alive and taking action came naturally to him. He LOVED people because his Mama taught him that it is important to appreciate life while you have it and that we should do our best in every situation. Forest just made it a great habit.
Of course, by doing your best, means letting go of the past and being fully alive in the present. You can’t change your past but you can write your own future just by “Always doing your best.”
Elevator Guy
Quotes for the Day;
“As long as you try your best, you are never a failure. That is, unless you blame others.” John Wooden
“Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.” Og Mandino