Ask Mark Ward

View Original

Be the Best.

With all due respect to the time-honored western tradition of focusing on our resolutions as goals, as tasks, as things that we plan to do, I think that it is also time for us to awaken to who we are being. Who you are affects the way that you do what you do, so, simply focusing on that which you wish to do is potentially limiting, in my opinion.

On one side of my business card, you will find a single question: "who do you want to be?"  For me, this question is at the root of the very creation of our lives--not the source of our existence, naturally, but the question that is at the core of the potential and possibility for a living, for creating the life that we desire. We can either live unconsciously, by default, responding to whatever happens to show up or we can live consciously, placing an order for what we want and executing a strategy to achieve it.

Sometimes, the art of possibility--all of the options that are available, all that we may or may not do to move effectively forward can become its own obstacle. For many, even deciding what we want is debilitating. So, consider this: redirect your focus and attention from the doing to the being.  Who do you want to be?  

I realize that, for some, it may sound a little abstract, a little touchy-feely. I get that. But, I assure you, the two most powerful words that you can and ever will utter are "I AM."  Whatever follows I am will find you, so decide who you want to be. What is the best adjective that describes who you want to be today?  Once you have picked your adjective, how will evaluate your success at the end of the day?  How will you determine whether you were actually who you said that you wanted to be?  Defining it now will better ensure your chances of actually achieving it.  What do you see as the challenges and obstacles of being that today? How will you overcome them? Articulate a plan, now.

Success or sabotage?  When you focus on who you want to be, you begin to take notice of the number of opportunities that you are awarded to be just that (often in the face of seemingly contradictory circumstances). You discover that you begin to have greater clarity on what it is that you want to create in your life. You begin to experience a sense of empowerment that for many have remained dormant. You remember the power and potential that is always available to you and you begin to consciously, strategically utilize it. 

Is this going to be an incredible day? Who are you today? What is the adjective that best describes who you on your best day?