It’s 6:00am on a Monday morning and your alarm clock is buzzing, reminding you of the promise you made to start getting back to the gym. You stretch an arm out, hit the snooze button, and tell yourself just “five more minutes” before falling back asleep for another two hours.
You’re having trouble to find the motivation to make the little changes, and eventually you have a hard time getting out of bed, even after a nine hour nap.
That scenario happens to the best of us. Even the most persistent and hard-working humans sometimes find themselves in a slump they think they’re stuck in, just as the greatest writers still get writers block. Why this happens is natural and normal, as exhaustion and lack of creativity don’t discriminate from anyone, and can kick in at any point in a strong career.
The question worth asking is not why this pesky phenomenon happens but how to navigate your life once the storm hits. How do you push yourself when you no longer feel the drive to keep doing what you’re doing?
A great life coach and multi-passionate entrepreneur, Marie Forleo, says the best way to motivate yourself is to ask this simple question: “How would you behave if you were the BEST in the world at what you do?”
If you were the best baker in the world, you wouldn’t settle for store bought pie crusts! No, you’d be in your bakery making the most scrumptious desserts for the world to devour.
Or say you had the best idea for a business, would you pursue your vision with a lion’s passion, or stay a sheep for the rest of your life, and take your genius to the grave, unexplored by the rest of the world.
If you were the best being on Earth at doing what you do, how would you behave every day?
Treasure Your Time
Knowing you’re the best at one thing in this world liberates your mind. It tells you to invest more of your time doing and developing that thing you love and do best. It tells you to lie low on the other things that are only taking away your valuable time and not letting you be the best at what you do.
You will delegate and automate the things that previously took you away from doing your greatest work. Knowing you’re the best will keep you focused from the temptations of time wasters, like browsing social media or wallowing in self-doubt and mediocrity, which we’ll get to in a bit.
With this insight you will become more productive and choose the top tasks for your time. You will not undersell yourself. You will know and respect your worth and change correspondingly.
Quit Mediocrity
Mediocrity is a time-waster.
If you are the best at something, to reach your maximum potential, you have to limit your time, energy, and focus to work on that one thing. Some people strive to be the jack of all trades and master of none, but not you. You do not settle for being mediocre. Follow your calling to greatness by quitting mediocrity, stop spreading yourself too thin. Instead be wise and discerning in which battles to pursue.
Your Growth, Not Theirs
Why focus on competing with the second best if you could compete with those on top. You are the best at what you do and the only person worth competing with is yourself. Improve yourself to become the best version of you, not your competitor.
Another benefit of this belief is the ability to change your perspective about the success of other people. You become happier when those around you succeed: when your family and friends do well, you want to celebrate their victories with them. Recognize that everyone brings something unique to the table, therefore eliminating any sense of competition. If the work you’re doing is truly your best, then you will stand out, because your voice is different from anyone else’s, and there will always be room for your unique vision somewhere in the world.
Be Generous to Others
Being the best in the world and taking pride in your skills doesn’t mean bragging about it. Quite the contrary, the best people in their fields are often the most humble, grateful, and generous with their skills and their success. Being grateful for what you achieve, and greatness in general, means acknowledging that you are not the best solely because of yourself and your own doings but because of the people who taught and supported you along the way.
Use your position to share your skills and knowledge, be generous with your work and time, and you will learn new things you never expected. The only way to stay hungry in any field is to take on burning challenges through the fuel of curiosity. School is never finished.
Be Generous to Yourself
If you were the best at something in this world, it would be a great disservice to all if you did not take care of your greatest resource- your body and mind. Physical and mental health are equally important, and if you look at the journals of the world’s greatest minds, you’ll see they made time for both mental and physical stimulation every single day.
So, whenever you are feeling unfocused, undetermined, and with no motivation to do you most meaningful work, or whenever you are working too hard, being a perfectionist and not giving yourself enough rest and nourishment, go back to those 16 words, think you are the best, and it will certainly bring out the best in you.