Become the best possible version of yourself.

I was golfing with Tiger Woods the other day…..no I wasn’t…I was golfing on my daughters Wii. It doesn’t matter; my score was just as bad. How many men (and women) wish they could play GOLF like Tiger? No matter how we feel about his newly revealed personal “flaws”, he is still perhaps the greatest practitioner of the sport to step onto the links. He remains the epitome of dedication to the achievement of excellence in a professional endeavor.
I will never play like Tiger Woods, even at a 1000 balls a day from now until the end of time. I will never play at that level. Neither will you. But, I can probably bring my score from the 90’s down to the low 80’s, on a decent day, with no pressure and the wind just right. Some courses are just not wide enough for my style of play. I can never play as good as Tiger, or Agassi, or surf like Lance Baird. I will never be as wise or patient as the Dalai Lama. I may never write like Hemmingway or have thought changing theories like Einstein, or Gregg Braden, et al. You probably won’t either. I do enjoy many of the activities in which these people engage. And studying, practicing and playing in these areas make me a fuller richer person.
Life gives all of us an opportunity to excel at everything we do, everything that peaks our interest. This doesn’t mean we’ll all play like Tiger woods, but it means we can excel nonetheless. It is our choice to make the most of the opportunities before us. It is our choice to become, or not become, the best possible version of our selves at any point in time. Some may refer to this as “maximizing” our potential. In clearly business terms, there is a maximum yield to the expenditure of effort in our individual endeavors. This is the point where determination, heart and drive meet the reality of physics, of individual emotional limiters, culture, childhood hang-ups….We must decide which of these will win the day.
Aren’t we all capable of excelling and reaching our Maximum potential? Whatever that is? What does it take to become the best possible version of ourselves? What does that mean exactly? It’s bound to be different for each sentient being. Perhaps it’s being the best producer in your office, or the best Husband and Father…best teacher, or friend. All of these are glimpses through a prism into the complexity of what is YOU….The cloudy or shimmering facets that people see from the outside.
Could excelling be as simple as finding joy in our actions, acceptance of our conditions, and peace in our convictions? Is it just as possible for us to improve a connection to ourselves and the universe, as it is to improve our backswing? I think it is. I think we can become the best possible version of ourselves, and then push those boundaries yet again.
In the days and weeks to follow, I hope you will join me in the pursuit of becoming our best possible selves.