Believe That Your Best is Good Enough
All of us worry about having positive outcomes in our personal and professional lives. This worry stems from many sources, chief among them being the doubt surrounding our best efforts being good enough. All of us suffer from daydreams or nightmares of striving mightily and falling just short of the prize.
Learn from John Wooden’s Wisdom
My late, great friend and mentor, John Wooden, was fond of saying, “Assume that your best is good enough.” Coach Wooden was far from an overoptimistic Pollyanna-filled dreamer. He was a realistic, down-to-earth man who achieved the highest goals imaginable by putting the right people in the right places and expecting them to perform at their best.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to perform at your best and expend the maximum effort if you are not certain that that effort will be rewarded.
Align Your Passions, Dreams, and Destinies
I’m a firm believer that each of us were given certain passions, dreams, callings, and destinies in this life. Furthermore, I believe those dreams would not have been put inside of us if we did not have the capacity to achieve them. So the question is never: Can we succeed?; but the real question remaining is: Will we succeed?
A firm belief in success as a result of our own best efforts is essential to making our dreams come true. Doubting this, we will often modify our goals to a more mediocre level or simply quit entirely. After all, why should we strive for the proverbial impossible dream? Successful people are certain that no dream is impossible if it is worthy, worthwhile, and comes from the deepest part of our being.
Examine Your Expectations and Reality
If you are struggling in any area of your life, you must first examine your own expectations. I hate to be the one to tell you, but life at its essence is simply not fair. Life is great, grand, and wonderful but never fair. In this world, we don’t always get what we want, need, deserve, or earn; but we will, inevitably, get what we expect. Our expectations are the keys that make it possible to perform at the level necessary to succeed.
How to Use Visualization to Create a Positive Mental Attitude
My friend Jack Nicklaus often says that he will never hit a golf shot until he sees himself swing properly and strike the ball correctly with the shot going exactly where he intended. He knows if he cannot see it in his mind, he will not execute it properly and, therefore, he will fail; however, once he can see the shot in his mind, he can create a positive expectation and then succeed.
If we are truly honest with ourselves, we will discover that our current position in every area of our lives is just about where we expect it to be. If you create a positive expectation of a better future, you will perform the tasks necessary to live it.
As you go through your day today, have a positive mental attitude knowing that your best is good enough.
Today’s the day!
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Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network, as well as a published author of many books including The Ultimate Gift. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. He may be reached by visiting JimStovall.com