How to be the best version of yourself

By Angad Thatai

In today’s world, everything is about winning the competition. It usually begins at home when you always want to win against your sibling. That competitive spirit carries over in school and you tend to do things that put you ahead of your peers. That competitiveness ameliorates to another level with your colleagues when you join the workforce. You have that hunger to be the best at what you do, but how can you achieve that?

It all starts with a simple question: “WHY do you want to do this?”

If you want to be successful you must have a WHY. There must be a reason for everything that you do. Think about why you want to do and what you want to do. Then think of the answer, and if that answer satisfies you and gives you a sense of relief, congrats, you’re on the right path.

The first thing you have to do is to set your goals and start believing in yourself. Trust the process, put the hard work in and respect the journey that you’re going to have while reaching your goal.

Patience is the key. Success can’t happen with a blink of an eye. We should know the reality. It’s not about how much you gain in a year, it’s a day-to-day process, hour-by-hour process, take one step at a time, and don’t look too ahead of yourself. It’s okay to envision yourself being successful in future, but it becomes a distraction when you start wasting too much time making scenarios in your head. That is pernicious and you’ll find yourself in the oblivion of darkness in no time.

There are always different paths to a single destination. Don’t fixate on one thing. Be flexible, don’t be reluctant to different options. Sometimes the road that you see isn’t the best road.

Always be open to other people’s opinion and perspectives, but never let their views change your way of thinking. Always look for the good things in others and leave the rest that you think are not good enough for you.

Block out the naysayers and focus on your goals. Take criticisms as motivation and use them in your life to help you drive to the finish line, but never let the thought of ‘proving those haters wrong when you’re successful. It’s unhealthy for your mind as well as body and never ends in a happy place. If a thought like that ever enters your brain, be mindful of the fact that why you started doing all this in the first place.

Remember that it’s your passion, it makes you feel happy, and it boosts your self-confidence. Don’t let your egoistical thought process divert you from your goal.

We live in a materialistic world where we are on a constant quest with people we meet. We want to be better and more successful than them. But for that, one must get out of materialism and introspect himself/herself on a spiritual level. The question shouldn’t be, “How to be the best at what I do?” It should be, “How to be the best version of myself?”

In the end, just always remember, it’s not about being better than anybody else, it’s about being the BETTER YOU.