Motivation logo

Being the Best Version of Yourself

What does it mean to be your best version?

By Reynold Keith KokerPublished 5 years ago 3 min read
Like
How do you view yourself and the world around you?
"When the vision and the voice on the inside becomes greater than all the opinions on the outside, you've begun to master your life." - Dr. John Demartini

Recently I got interviewed on a podcast called Super Human You with my good friend Bryan Heilman. In this interview, I discussed in-depth about my lifestyle of fitness training, healthy eating, and what inspires me to live a disciplined life in those areas.

The last question I was asked in this interview was how a person can become the best version of themselves. I had no problems answering the question until I found out that I had to answer the question in one sentence!

I had to scratch my head for a moment because I had a complex answer in my mind which I had to sum up. After taking a deep breath and musing over the question, my answer was that a person becomes the best version of themselves when they stop comparing themselves to other people.

Our ability to live to our full potential in life is often hindered by the opinions and injected values of other people.

When we live in a society where there is pressure to look a certain way or think a certain way, a person can lose their ability to think for themselves because of the fear of being the ridiculed and rejected by people.

Where does this mindset begin in an individual?

When we grow up as kids, we all have authority figures. The common authority figures in most people's lives are parents, teachers, religious leaders, etc. Authority figures are very important in the development of us as humans beings, but at the same time, we are all individuals who have different sets of values that we will naturally gravitate towards. You will not find two sets of individuals that share identical values, although they may have one or two things in common.

We are conditioned from a young age to follow what everyone else is doing, rather than being guided towards a life that truly inspires us. I truly believe that the majority of parents want the best for their children's future, but often the approach plants the seed of living for the expectations of other people.

For example, a child develops the habit of sucking their thumb as a form of comfort from when they were a baby. This child is about to start school in a few weeks time, and the thumb sucking becomes a major issue to the parents. The parents begin to dissuade the child from sucking their thumb by telling the child that the other kids at school are going to make fun of them because only babies suck their thumbs. There's no doubt in my mind that parents that use this type of approach love and care for their child, but what is being taught and affirmed in the mind of this child?

We are all unique and beautiful, just the way we are. I believe that the most destructive mindset in this life is to have self-hatred for yourself by being an imitation of somebody else. You can have individuals that inspire you, but you should never attempt to be that person because unrealistic expectations on yourself will leave a sense of failure in your mind. Only you can be you, and nobody else can be you!

Muhammad Ali declared himself as being 'The Greatest" before he even won a boxing world title. At the time, many people found Ali to be an arrogant and overconfident young man who had no chance of beating Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight title. It didn't matter to Ali what people thought about his bold claims of being the greatest of all time. What mattered to him was what he thought about himself.

"You cannot let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one." - Coach John Wooden

Being the best version of yourself is something that only you can define.

If we look at history and see the people that achieved greatness in this life, they were not always received with open arms because their ideas often went against society's norms.

Be true to yourself because you only have one life. If you set yourself a goal in life, ask yourself what the purpose of your goal is. If the goal is solely based on gaining the approval of others while leaving yourself unhappy, it would be a good idea to reassess things. Take time out to list the things in life that truly make you happy and gives you energy when you think about those things. Anything that takes energy away from you just isn't worth it.

Love what you do and do what you love.

You are the greatest!

Give yourself permission to be unique!

success
Like

About the Creator

Reynold Keith Koker

Born and raised in London UK, this young man is fueled with a passion to inspire individuals around the world through health, fitness, and diet. A qualified life coach that delivers his messages in a way that people can relate to.

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.