The One Thing More Important Than Being "The Best"

The Duck Dynasty debacle which has unraveled in the media got me thinking about you. If you haven't heard, Phil Robertson star of reality TV show Duck Dynasty was suspended by the A & E Network for speaking out against gay marriage in an interview with GQ magazine.  Robertson publicly cast judgment upon an entire group of people and as a result has damaged his own career. Now before you feel sorry for him, understand that freedom of speech does not equal freedom from consequences. In other words, Don't shoot your mouth off if your brain isn't loaded first.

What sort of intellectual ammunition are you placing in your mind?

Are you doing to yourself the same thing Phil Robertson did?  Being judgmental, not in the media but in your own mind. When we judge something, someone or ourselves we damage our performance and sabotage our own results. That internal voice of judgment has a way of unnecessarily slamming the mental emergency brake on otherwise good performances.

How are you judging yourself and what are you saying about you? Are your comparing yourself to you or to others around you? In other words, Are you focused on being the best or your best?

Instead of focusing on being "The Best" choose to direct your focus on being "Your Best". "The Best" is often an unrealistic expectation and externally focused. It inherently causes you to judge yourself against others. Focusing on "the best" comes at the expense of "your best". When you opt to work to be your best you are removing judgment and bringing about an internal focus.  As my friend and fellow author Cliff Fazzolari says "You're on a personal journey, so keep it personal". 

Need a compelling reason to redirect your focus from "The Best" to "Your Best"?

"The best" award one can receive is a Nobel prize. The Nobel Prize winners were honored two weeks ago in Stockholm. Can you name who won the Nobel Peace prize this year? Now name the last four people before that. How about the last five winners of the Heisman Trophy, Oscars or Academy Awards? I know I couldn't correctly complete those lists. You either?

We invest so much thought and energy in judging ourselves against "the best" yet I couldn't name five in any of those lists.

Now name the last five people you've helped or five mentors, coaches or professors who had a positive impact in your life. By comparison, these were pretty easy lists to make, right? This is why it's more important to focus on being "Your Best" rather than "The Best". Wasting energy in judgment is the most foolish and self-sabotaging decision you can make.

Look in every occupation and industry and you'll find people who have overcome the odds because they did not cast judgment upon themselves and they ignored the judgment of others. Instead they committed themselves in full measure to the process of developing their talents.

You are in this story too. You're not a born winner or loser, you're born a chooser. What are you choosing for yourself? Choose to focus on the process of being your best and success will find you.