Today’s Best Self.
Every day we wake up is a little bit different. Some days you roll out of bed and your feet hit the floor and everything seems to line up perfectly. The sun is shining in, you feel refreshed after a great night sleep, your energy is high and you are ready to create your day. These days are when the pieces fit, every light is green on your commute and a new line opens at the grocery store just as you are walking up to check out. These days are filled with smiles and ease and things really feel effortless. Your hair looks great, your clothes feel comfortable and the meals you make are timed perfectly and taste delicious. Your best self on these days seems to be running at a positive and high frequency. Roadblocks, issues or tough situations are navigated with low stress solutions and emotions are processed. These days are the ones you strive for.
Then there are those other days. The ones where you have a back spasm as you roll out of bed. You accidently stub your toe on the dresser in effort to not step on the dog and the rain is coming down. Your coffee pot did not brew correctly and there are grounds in your cup. You are late to work because of a small fender bender that blocked the road for 15 minutes and you drop a can of spaghetti sauce in aisle 13 that splatters on your white pants. These days are filled with headaches, frowns and everything feels really difficult. Your hair feels frizzy, your new pants give you a constant uncomfortable wedgie and you burnt the toast because you were busy remaking the coffee. Your best self on these days is working to get past the negative feelings to neutral which feels very difficult and takes a ton of effort. Tough situations are making you mad and you struggle to navigate them and process your frustration. Your best self on these days is being glad that you didn’t honk at that aggressive driver that cut you off and you made it home safely and in one scattered piece. These are the days that make you appreciate that they are not all like that and that you got through it.
Then there are the “in the middle” days where things are just fine. You slept okay, your coffee was not quite hot but tasted good and your eggs were 30 seconds overcooked but salt and pepper and a dash of tabasco made it fine. You are on time to work although meetings that run smoothly are uninspiring. The grocery store trip was 90% successful although your favorite almond milk creamer was out of stock so you bought the off brand that is not quite as satisfying. These days are filled with mixed emotions or random sadness yet a few laughs find their way in. Your hair looks fine and your pants feel comfortable but you realized that you put your underwear inside out during your bathroom break. Things work themselves out and while there are some difficult conversations, like the one with the loud neighbor where you ask them to turn down their music (again!), you have a great phone call with your mom that reminds you that everything will be okay. These days are a mix of ease and struggle and you learn a little bit more about yourself and how you can navigate your days.
Being your best self every day can look very different from one day to the next. Amongst varying circumstances, situations, moods and opportunities, your best self one day can be making it out of bed, getting to work on time and not yelling at your kids while getting a microwaved meal on the table 30 minutes later than planned. And the next day it can be jumping out of bed, crushing your morning workout, being to all of your meetings early and presenting your family with delicious sushi take out that you picked up on the way home….AND they accidently gave you an extra order of shumai!
No matter what the day is, what the mood is and what circumstances you find yourself in, you can tackle it as your best self. The best you that you have that day. What matters is getting to the end of the day as you are curling up in bed to get a good night sleep and being proud of how you showed up that day.
So as you go through today, how can you be your best self? It doesn’t have to look like yesterday’s best or tomorrow’s best or next week’s best. It looks like the best version of you on this day in this place with these circumstances. Be proud of that self.
Keep going. You got this. Your future self will thank you.