Of all the pieces of advice when it comes to self improvement, this is definitely one of my favorites.
So often people live in the future with their eyes looking far ahead and as a result, don’t pay any QUALITY attention to the present and what happens is what they do NOW SUFFERS.
It’s like a guy trying to dig a deep hole but instead of looking at the ground in which he’s digging, chooses to look straight ahead to maybe a time where he doesn’t have to dig those deep holes anymore.
As a result, he’s not paying attention to what he’s doing right now, digging a shallow hole here, digging a shallow hole there, never making any real progress when it comes to digging DEEP.
And as a result, he can never advance because he can’t even handle the responsibilities he’s given now.
I don’t care what kind of work you’re doing right now – DO IT THE BEST YOU CAN RIGHT NOW.
If you’re a parking valet, greet those drivers with a big happy smile, say hi, ask how they’re doing, take great care of their car, bring it up when it’s time for them to go, hand them the keys with a great smile, tell them to have a great night and thank them for coming.
If you sort mail, be the best damn mail sorter in the company.
If you’re a brick layer, lay down each brick the finest way you can.
Take pride in your work.
And not just in your work.
In EVERYTHING you do.
Take pride when it comes to exercising, cooking, reading. Do it all the best you can.
It’s the habit of doing the best you can RIGHT NOW that matters because think about it.
If you do best you can right now at things you don’t particularly like, then how much more will you do your best with the things you DO like?
When you find that ONE thing your heart is set upon doing, whether it’s writing that book, opening a small business, getting that position in the company, you’re going to do a DAMN good job at it. You carry over that discipline tenfold.
What I also love about this principle is that it FORCES you to focus on the present.
When you do the best you can right now, you have NO choice BUT to focus on the present.
And if you keep on doing the best you can right now, you simultaneously create the best possible future for yourself as well.
Make everything you do a masterpiece. When you read that, it seems so “heavy” when you think of all the things you do on a daily basis but again, it seems “heavy” because you’re putting your eyes too far ahead.
This is not to say you shouldn’t look to the future. You definitely should. You should know what you’re looking at, keep your eyes on the prize, then come BACK to the present and do the things you know you have to do, one at a time, the best you can.
The problem with visualization and all the other future oriented pieces of self improvement advice is that it starts to work against you when all you do is do just that – future oriented stuff. Just looking far ahead isn’t going to do much work.
Get back to the present, do what needs to be done right now that you know will pave the way toward your goal. Do it the best you can.
Every now and then of course raise your eyes to look upon the prize, to make sure you’re heading the right way, to remind you of what you’re reaching for, to get back that extra step in your bounce when things seem to settle down and you feel like you’re losing your “juice”. Then come back to the present and do your work the best you can.
Now, draw your eyes back to the ONE THING you’re doing right now – reading this article.
Don’t think of all you have to do afterwards and how you can do it the best you can because you shoot yourself in the foot before you even start.
Read this article best you can. Pay attention to it. Turn off the music. Don’t skim. Read each sentence carefully. Read each word. Concentrate. Let it all sink in.
What’s great about this is when you finally master this principle, you don’t worry about the future in terms of whether or not it will happen or not.
Why?
Because you’ve gotten in the habit of doing the best you can right now and you know that if you just keep on doing that, if you just pay attention and do the best you can right now with regard to all the things you know you have to do to get to where you want to be, how could you not end up where you want to go?
If you pay attention to all the steps you have to take to get from your home to the local 7-11, and go and take those steps the best you can, then how could you NOT end up there?
The only way you can’t end up there is if you just keep on staring at the 7-11, hoping to magically transport yourself there.
You have to walk. You have to take the steps. Take them the best you can. If you trip, fall, that’s OK. Get up and start walking the best you can again. Make sure you’re heading in the right direction. And there’s no way you can’t arrive at your destination if you do just that.
Your very attention to the present is shaping the future simultaneously until they become one and the same.
And right then and there, you will understand the FULL POWER of doing the best you can RIGHT NOW and resolve to never do anything else you do otherwise.
