Why I say to DO your imperfect best instead of BE your imperfect best
A few months ago a wonderful friend asked me “why not say, “Be Your Imperfect Best.”
It’s a wonderful question because I’m growing to love the “being” part of life more and more. I practice mindfulness as often as I remember to be mindful. I Om in yoga classes. I go for walks and immerse myself in the present moment of the scenery.
Still I think it’s important to say “Do Your Imperfect Best.”
Here’s my idiosyncratic reasoning:
“Do” has been what I needed. I needed to do a lot of doing to get up and go to thousands of yoga classes, to move from South Dakota to San Diego, to become a yoga teacher, to write and publish a book, to figure out how to share a message of value to audiences of all shapes and sizes.
“Do” has helped me get over my old tendency of sitting on the sidelines of my life wishing that I didn’t have a speech impediment or coordination differences. Sitting on the sidelines was slowly draining my spirit, plus it got hard on the butt.
Ironically since, I now “do” much more of what I truly want than I did before, I give myself more freedom to be present to life as it actually unfolds moment by moment, instead of spending so much time distracted by wishing things were different.
Lately, when I speak to audiences as part of my talk, I’ve been surprising them by singing a popular song. Actually, it’s more than a surprise, it’s a bit of a jarring jolt. Do I sing to impress them with my musical talent? Nope, the last time I had any formal training in the art of singing was sixth grade music class. Plus, I’m the proud owner of a pronounced speech impediment. In fact, there is a great deal within me that says, “Hey Jason, why don’t you just be quiet with that singing voice of yours?” After all, I already have the speaking engagement and haven’t promised to sing them a song as part of it.
But my message isn’t about “being quiet” about the things we most want to “DO” in life.
My message is about doing our Imperfect Best, which means going for our needs, wants, ideas and dreams, even though we may not have everything lined up perfectly or have a guarantee of success. Basically, there will never be a perfect time to do what we want to do.
Given this reality, it’s time to stop “Being Quiet” about what we really want to do in life.
You, like me, weren’t made to sit down and be quiet about our dreams.
You were made to stand up, go forth, do your Imperfect Best and sing your song the best way you know how.
If you’d like more insights from Jason, Click Here to preview the first 36 Pages of his book, Awkwardly Awesome – Embracing My Imperfect Best !
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