Is it about being the best or being your best?

Image Source: LucentCoach

Post Authored by Alexandra. Connect with her on Twitter: @AlexandraZion

One might ask, “Is it about being the best or being your best?”

Little wonder how individuals often beat themselves in situations and feel quite uncomfortable in their own skins. Agreed, we live in a world of “more”, but there’s more to “more”, more than we understand.

We tend to want “more” in a wrong way, and this wrong way is striving to be the best.

I write from a personal experience which works for me at all times. I have strongly tested and proven that the path to moving forward is being better than who we were yesterday.

At some point in my life, during my second year in Secondary School, I had transferred from another school after my first year where I was at the top of my class in academics. I went to my new school in the exclusive mind of being the best student. However, unfortunately for my big head, I came 7^th in the first term of my new school year. It was the most shocking thing ever.

I was active in class, prompt in assignments and “Ella enchanted” to instructions. I strove harder to be the best in the second term but I came 4^th. This became consecutive in the third term. Could you imagine my frustration? Of course, my parents could not fathom what had become of their beloved brilliant daughter.

Unfortunately, doing the right things with the wrong attitude, motive and mindset would take us totally off track.

Moreover, I settled down with myself in my third year and determined to make a change. At this point, I was not planning to be better than the individual at the 1^st position but to be better than a 4^th position (my yesterday). I proceeded to go through my mistakes, learn from them and let go of the failure that had been.

In the first term of my third year, I came second. I was happy with myself. I was not bothered about the topmost position. I was a girl that just wanted to grow.  Amazingly, the next two terms had me in the front of my class academically.

Why?

I learnt and admitted the fact that “self” is self’s enemy and friend. I also saw reason not to compete or compare myself to others, because we are special in all our ways. We can learn from others, but not once should we lose our identities in them.

A man wisely said “One is not a failure until he blames someone else for it.”

Our priorities should not be being better than the girl or boy next door but being a better we. It is coming into the fullness of a peculiar people that God has for us. Life, as often said, is a race of individuality. We should learn to painfully or happily take responsibilities for whatever actions we take, whether good or bad.

I read a health and fitness handbook once and it said: “Hug yourself and repeat these words ‘I am beautiful (you could say handsome as a man) and wonderful and I love myself.’”

I threw comparison away for a long time now, fallen and grown in love with who God has made me and it works like fire.

 How about you?