There are many things that you can do for yourself to make today better or as good as it can possibly be, but the single best thing you can do for yourself today is to let yourself be human.
It’s something we all need to do a better job of, especially given the current state of the world around us. Nobody needs to carry unwanted, unnecessary, and undeserved stress. Give yourself some grace and allow yourself to be human.
What Does It Mean to Let Yourself Be Human?
So what do I mean when I say to let yourself be human?
For starters, be kind to yourself. Treat yourself the way you want others to treat you. Don’t listen to the negative thoughts that pass through your mind. Give yourself some grace, be proud of the person you are today, and focus on doing the best you can do.
Next, it means going easier on yourself and allowing yourself to make mistakes. When we become afraid of making mistakes, we become afraid of trying new things in life. When we become afraid of trying new things, we prevent ourselves from growing from who we were yesterday into who it is that we want to be.
It also means letting go of perfection. This is a major key to allowing yourself to be human.
Admittingly, these past few weeks have been stressful to say the least. This isn’t to say that my life is more stressful than anybody else’s, but I sometimes find myself trying so hard to be perfect that it causes this extra level of stress; stress I don’t need.
Lastly, it means to let go and to embrace today for the blessing that it is.
Again, this is something that I find myself having a difficult time with, but it’s something that I know I need to be doing if I want to have a brighter day.
When we allow ourselves to be consumed by the negativity and the stressors of yesterday, we allow them to change our perception of the reality that is today. The more we allow ourselves do to this, the more we rob ourselves of being able to truly live our best lives.
Why Focus On Just One Single Thing?
If you’re anything like me, your mind is constantly racing. So much so, that you may find it challenging to focus on one sole thing.
Yes, it is hard to focus on one single thing when your mind is rapidly racing around, but it’s necessary if you want to be able to give your very best and do your very best.
This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t have multiple goals for the day, but you shouldn’t allow those goals to stop you from being able to do the single best thing for yourself today.
Here’s why…
When we focus on multiple areas of our lives, we are never giving our full attention to just one single area. This makes it difficult to progress in any single area of our lives or be able to give it our undivided attention and effort.
If we continue to diversify our attention all of these different wants and desires, the process to actually achieve them is going to be substantially longer versus if we had focused on just one single thing and gave it our undivided attention.
Maybe you like reading or maybe you don’t. Either way, the concept can be much better described by Gary Keller in his book The ONE Thing. As Keller puts it, the point of the concept is to do ONE thing today that is going to make everything else in the future easier or unnecessary. Only once you achieve your one thing should you then go onto the next.
What Should Your One Thing Be?
As I am getting ready to start my day, my one thing is to let myself be human. It’s to be kind to myself, to try new things, to make mistakes, and to let go of perfection. The more I can do this, the easier it will be to manage and hopefully handle with the stress and anxiety I have been experiencing lately.
So if you are finding yourself in a similar situation as me, I encourage you to ask yourself what’s the single best thing you can do for yourself today? What’s the single best thing you can do today that’s going to make everything in the future either easier or unnecessary?
Let the answer be your focus for the day. Maybe it’s mending a broken relationship, getting out and moving your body, or just practicing being a kinder person to yourself and others. Either way, focus on what you feel is the single best thing you can do today, and also don’t forget to allow yourself to be human.
Before You Go
Right now, during the challenging times we are facing, it’s more important than ever before to just be.
There’s always going to be room for improvement, things you could have done differently, different choices you could have made. But you didn’t. You are human and are going to make mistakes in life.
Don’t beat yourself up for those mistakes and add to your already existing stress. Be kind to yourself, forgive yourself for your mistakes, and never forget that being you is always going to be your greatest strength.
Michael Bonnell
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