My favorite author* once wrote “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive that is youer than you!”  You have a responsibility to the world to be the best version of yourself. If you aren’t, who will be able to fill that spot? Part of this means we need to stop expecting to find this grand idea we sometimes call “perfection”.

We need to change the ideal to “developing” ourselves and our communities. There needs to be a realization that my path is not yours. Everyone has a road to journey on. There are many places to start, take breaks, and finish.

I have two amazing children. Two very different children in terms of personality and ability. If I were to compare their milestones side by side my daughter would show up lacking. For example: Conor was consistently rolling over by 3 days old. Kadlin rolled with intention for the first time at 2.5 years old. Conor took his first steps at 5 months. Kadlin still can’t even stand. Side by side Kadlin comes up short. Every time. Does this make Conor better or more perfect than Kadlin? NO! Conor is perfectly himself, growing and improving himself daily. Kadlin is also perfectly herself, fighting her own battles every day. They each have their individual journeys.

Just as my two children differ drastically, there is no one exactly the same. The world is as full of as many unique people and situations as you can imagine! Why on earth are you comparing yourself to someone who is not you? That is an apple and orange comparison.

This goes for your fitness as well. Imagine your first day in the gym. You see someone with your dream physique doing the “perfect” bicep curl or squat. They have loaded the barbell. You see your goal. You grab the weight. And then you fall over trying to pick it up. You leave the gym disappointed, knowing with every fiber of your being you failed.

WHAT WENT WRONG??? You built up this idea that you could walk in without any effort, get the results and skills that took your “perfect” person years to accomplish. You forgot that you cannot compare their accomplishments to yours, you are different people.  Most importantly, you need to know that we are all at different places in life and that is OK! It’s ok to be where you are, and love the path you have found for yourself, even if it’s not exactly where you want to be.

We should always be improving and working toward bettering yourself. When your goals revolve around being better than you were yesterday you unleash the potential to add color and texture to the lives of those you come in contact with. If you decide to limit yourself to only being as good as the person next to you, that potential is reduced. You remove your ability to be the best you possible. The ceiling shrinks, the box closes around you. You miss out on the greatest adventure of your life time! YOUR life.

The best way to live with yourself is to BE yourself. You have a unique position in this world. If you pass on the opportunity to be perfectly you, you deprive the world of the amazing person you are. You leave a hole, a job position fillable only by you, empty. And the world is a little less bright for it.

Thank you for enriching my life, bringing texture and color I would otherwise miss if I didn’t have you. Today remember “There is no one alive that is youer than you!” Be proud of it.