The Art Of Being The Best

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We all want to be the best, but only a few are willing and ready to be the best. We are striving every day to be the best at what we do. Companies are innovating every day to be the best in their chosen products. Countries are fighting to be the best in the world. It is fun to be the best at what you do?

How many people really want to be the best?

How many people really have what it takes to be the best at what you do?

How many companies are ready and willing to be the best?

You here people or businesses say something like, “We are good at what we do.” Are they really good at what they are doing, or just talking?

Being the best is not about how much money you or your business has in the bank. Being the best means growth and development. Because it takes the best to grow, to mature, to know what they want, to know what they don’t want, and how to move forward.

Being the best means you are doing what others don’t want to do. There is growth in chaos. There is no growth in familiarity. There is no growth in popularity. What is popular is dead. What is new comes with lots of opportunities to explore. There is no growth in status quo. There is only maintenance and stability in status quo. If you want to grow, a chaotic organization is the right place for you to be. If you want stability, an organization that promotes status quo is the right place for you.

Status quo and growth cannot coexist. Period.

You can be the best at what you do, but it comes with a big price. Everything comes with a price. If you want an expensive car, you should be willing and ready to pay the price. It comes with a price.

Growth- personally and professionally- comes with a price. If you are ready and willing to pay the price for whatever you want, then there is nothing you cannot achieve. Michael Phelps says, “If you want to be the best, you have to do things that others aren’t willing to do.” That is right.

The magic formula for growth (professionally and personally) is doing what others don’t want to do.

Being the best means you are committed to doing better everyday. It means excellence. Pat Riley says, “Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.”

If you are committed to doing more than what your peers are doing, if you are ready to go the extra mile for your company, for yourself, you will be the best at what you do. Always find ways to be the best, meaning always find ways to add value to yourself and your organization. You will be the best if you can do the best.

You can be the best. To do that, ask of yourself more than what your peers are asking of themselves.

How To Remove Your Self-Imposed Limitations

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Self-imposed limitations are the things we tell yourselves that we cannot do. Self-imposed limitations can cause you to stay where you are, because your mind has accepted them as real. If you allow your self-imposed limitations to become your reality, they will prevent you from becoming who you really are. They will stop you from reaching your goal. They will prevent you from doing the things you were created to do.

The problem with self-imposed limitations is, when you tell yourself what you cannot do, you can rarely do more than your limits.

Self-imposed limitations:

  • Are artificial
  • They are not real. They are self-created
  • Subjective- they are what you tell yourself
  • They can be changed
  • They underestimate you and others
  • They can keep you in your comfort zone if you don’t act
  • They will take time to change, so be patient.

If you want to be successful, you must first get rid of those self-imposed limitations that are holding you back. Self-imposed limitations are not real; they are man-made limitations.

Let us look at some common ones and how to get rid of them.

Perfectionism. Perfectionism prevents people from living their lives. No one is perfect. If you want to succeed, strive for excellence, not perfection. In their book, Awakening the Workplace, Rhonda Victoor writes, “When we succumb to perfectionism or procrastination (both of which are lying to ourselves) we set ourselves up for a gloriously average career and perpetual disappointment.”

Procrastination. If you want to achieve success in life, learn not to put things off until tomorrow. You will not achieve greatness if you keep putting things off until tomorrow. Whatever is due today, do it today, not tomorrow. According to Rhonda Victoor, “Every time we procrastinate on important tasks, we lie to ourselves. We make other things, like “busy work” or being perfect, more important than getting the job done.”

Blaming Others. If you want to grow, you must hold yourself accountable for your own mess. Don’t blame other people for your mess, blame yourself. When you blame other people for your mistakes or failures, you are giving your power away. If you want to learn from your mistakes, don’t shift them to the next guy, own them. That is the only way to learn from mistakes. Winston Churchill said, “The price of greatness is responsibility.”

Making excuses. Excuses will not bring success to you. They will fill your storage room with failures. Don’t hide behind excuses. If you don’t know what you want out of your life, reach out to people for help. In his book, The Magic of Thinking Big, Dr. David J. Schwartz wrote, “You will discover that excusitis explains the difference between the person who is going places and the fellow who is barely holding his own.” If you want to grow, if you want to be greater, stop making excuses.

How To Remove Your Self-imposed Limitations

It is going to take time. You are going to be very patient. You can remove them by:

  1. Changing your mindset. Everything starts in your mind. If you want to get rid of these self-imposed limitations, you start by changing your mindset about yourself. Change how you evaluate yourself. Don’t compare yourself to others. Believe in yourself. If you don’t like what is happening to you now, change it. If you don’t like your life, change it. If you don’t like your career, change it. To change your world, you have to change how you think about your world.
  2. Take action. The only existing medication to cure self-imposed limitations is action. Action cures everything. If you want to get results that will change your life, take action. “If you have a problem, act now, or pay later.”- Anonymous
  3. Do what you fear. Whatever it is that you are afraid of, embrace it today. You have to overcome your fears to succeed. If you keep running away from your fear, your success will keep running away from you. You must face your fears if you want to succeed.
  4. Commit yourself to what you want. Don’t let setbacks frustrate you. Let feelings of frustration move you to change your life. Prepare to achieve what you want. Commit yourself to your goal. If you prepare, you will win.

Your self-imposed limitations are fake, not real. Burst them today!