How To Be The Best That You Can Be

Everyone of us has virtually unlimited potential when we are born.  Unfortunately, many of us are never able to achieve our full potential.  There are indeed steps that you can take to be the best that you can be. But remember that potential alone is not enough to get you to be the best that you can be. In order to be the best that you can be, you have to pursue and develop your potential.  Here are some steps as to how you can do it.

Step 1
Evaluate Your Strengths and Weaknesses


Knowing about yourself is the starting point in being the best that you can be.  Firstly, you need to write down your strengths and weaknesses and ask your closest friends ( the people who really know you) to assess them too.  The feedback from your friends will help you see how realistic your self-assessment is. Don't be surprised to be surprised!!!  Your friends' assessment can perhaps aid in defining your potential in a number of areas.  Another way is you can also seek professional assistance to help you with these tasks either in school or from outside services.  The key point here is you MUST know where you are starting from.

Step 2
Establish Realistic Goals


You need to MAKE things happen.  Obviously things won't happen just like that!  Becoming the best that you can be isn't automatic.  A very important step is to establish realistic goals for key areas of life: education, career, income and so on.  Goals are actually a result desired or achieved in a definite time frame (finish paying your home loan 6 months in advance, for example).  Of course these are your goals and as such you can have some flexibility in achieving them but setting goals is a real boost to directed activities and motivation.  Write down your goals and revise them as necessary, but keep them VISIBLE to help you focus on where you need to go.

Step 3
Develop and Implement Action Plans


So now you have your goals.  How are you going to achieve them?  This is where action plans are required to specify in some detail how you will achieve them.  Becoming an expert in developing and implementing action plans can really help you to be the best you can be.  Good plans provide additional energy , focus, direction and motivation.

Step 4
Develop and Maintain a Positive Outlook


In anything good that you undertake, you are bound to face challenges from every angle.  There are numerous distractions on the road to becoming the best that you can be.  It takes work but you can overcome discouraging events and negative influences.  Learn how to become and stay a POSITIVE person.  Now this is very important.  A positive attitude will help you better in dealing with disappointments and bad luck.

Step 5
Pursue Life-Long Learning


Education is the goose that keeps on laying golden eggs literally!  Make the most of your formal schooling at every level and when you have finished school, make a commitment to life-long learning.  To be the best you can be, you MUST become a learning machine throughout your life.  Be a sponge for knowledge.  Develop a voracious appetite for learning new things.  Learning is NEVER finished and you should know that 'KNOWLEDGE is POWER'.

Step 6
Develop your Character


Good character is one of the key ingredients in being the best that you can be and in having a good life.  You need to acquire prudence to make consistently good decisions in life.  You need to act justly so that you will be trusted and respected.  You need fortitude to persist with difficult chores like education.  You need temperance to avoid destructive evils like addiction to drugs, alcohol, food (gluttony) and sex (lust).  CHARACTER SHAPES YOUR DESTINY OR CORRUPTS IT.  You must work very hard to develop good character.

Step 7
Cultivate Good Habits


If you are a well functioning adult, you will realize how valuable good habits are.  To be the best yo can be, you must be alert to avoid or break bad habits and to cultivate good ones.  Good habits make so many things easier, like avoiding accidents, always being prepared for lessons or meetings, always keeping your commitments, always being on time, etc.  Fill yourself with good habits and you will find it a sure thing to be the best you can be.

I'll stress here that every one of us can be the best  we can be if we strive to improve what we have within us.  Obviously it cannot happen over night, but if you persist and follow these steps, I am confident that you are already on your way to being the best you can be in your life.  We all want the same thing, and that is to be happy.  You WILL be happy when you are the best you can be.