Bring the best version of yourself to work

I always tell my clients to bring the best version of themselves to work every day.

What does this mean? 

It means that “you do you.”

Being your best self means that you are living authentically. 

It means that you don’t compare yourself to anyone else but are clear on your own personal goals and definition of success. 

Being your best self also means you don’t strive for perfection. 

After all, humans are infallible, and hence striving for perfection is an unrealistic goal. 

It will just cause you an inordinate amount of stress and pressure.

So, as we head into the new year, what can you do now to start thinking about what the best version of yourself means to you?

Here are my top 3 tips.

Celebrate your victories. Even if this was a challenging year, you still had many accomplishments and successes. I encourage you to write them down. Look at what you did well this year. Identify the strengths you leveraged to achieve these goals—plan on leveraging these strengths again next year to bring your best self to work. 

Learn from your failures. Failure is the best way to learn and grow. It really is our best teacher. Write down some of your failures this year. They don’t have to be huge failures. They can be small things like not speaking up enough in meetings, canceling too many of your team coaching sessions, or not listening enough. Ask yourself what you can do differently next year to improve in this area.

Focus on your priorities. You will never be the best version of yourself if you always try to meet others’ expectations. Think about what made you happy this year and schedule time next year to repeat those activities. These activities can range from more in-person time at the office to applying for that promotion. Whether they are big or small, take the time to focus on what matters most to you.

Being the best version of yourself is not about massive change. Conversely, it’s about incremental shifts. Being the best version of yourself is a life-long journey. 

So, honor where you are today…and think about what you can do to bring more of your best self to work next year.

I am grateful for you and am so happy that you have been part of my leadership community in 2022.

Wishing you and your loved ones a wonderful holiday season.