Lately I’ve been trying to note every morning the most important people who need my “A-game” that day. Who needs me to really show up for them and be the best person that I can be on that day. This was something I got via a suggestion in a podcast from Brendon Burchard.
Burchard emphasizes that it’s easy to not show up for ourselves (slacking on exercise, watching an entire season of a show on Netflix instead of doing the dishes, or surfing social media to avoid working on some boring project), but it’s harder to do those things when it’s someone else who’s counting on you.
Everyday I put my wife and daughter on that brief list. Sometimes I put a colleague I’m going to collaborating with, or, if my daughter has a baseball game, I will frequently write down “the other players on the team” because I want to try to support and encourage them. This does work. I can look at my list throughout the day to remind me of my big “why” for trying to be the best that I can be on that given day.
Let me emphasize that whole “on that given day thing”. My best today may not be as good as yesterday or tomorrow, but I want to be able to look back on my day and know that I put in the best effort that I had in me that day. That will always involve that I took time to take care of myself, because again, you have to put your oxygen mask on first, because I can’t show up for anyone if I’m sick or have no energy.
Which brings me to the final person who I’m trying to bring my “A-game” to every single day. My future me, whether that’s tomorrow me, next month me, or 30 years from now me, needs me to show up for them today and every day. That includes taking care of myself, but it also includes living my manifesto, contributing to helping make the world better, showing up for the important people in my life, and inspiring others to do the same so that I can look back in 50 years and know that I did the best that I had in me. That person needs my A-game.
