How To Unleash the Best Form of You

Only one thing stops you from achieving success, accomplishing your goals, and living a life of purpose: yourself.

Your biggest hurdles are fine-tuning your mindset and channeling your energy toward getting what you want out of life.

How to Become the Best Version of You

Unleashing the best version of yourself will take time, patience, and firm determination. Slow down, self-reflect, and think about what you hope to achieve and why.

We’ll take you through the steps to realign your mindset, beliefs, and goals one step at a time. It’s going to be a long but incredibly rewarding journey.

Step 1: Set Realistic Goals

The best way to accomplish your goals is to write them down, revisit them, and tweak them if necessary.

Start with small goals that are easy to fulfill:

Wake up an hour early in the morning to get a headstart on my day

Avoid looking at my phone first thing in the morning

Go for a 20-minute walk three times a week

Read a newspaper instead of scrolling through social media

Drink coffee every other day instead of every day

Brush my teeth before bedtime

Make time for family or friends on the weekend instead of working

Read at least one book each month

Cook at home instead of ordering take-out

Learn how to cook a new dish every week

Save 20% of my monthly paycheck instead of spending it all

When you start with small, simple goals, you train yourself to develop better habits and stick to them. As you work through your goals, ask yourself the following questions:

Were you able to stick to a goal for more than a week?

Did you have to push yourself?

Did new habits come naturally to you?

You may have felt lazy, unmotivated, uninspired, or reluctant at some point. While such feelings are natural, they can hamper your journey.

Ask yourself why you felt like giving up or switching to something else. You must acknowledge why you couldn’t follow through on minor goals so you can develop a stronger mindset for bigger ones. Track your progress to discover your strengths and weaknesses.

For example, walking for 20 minutes every other day is a simple starting point. Maintaining this daily or weekly habit will help you work up to a bigger goal, like a more intense workout routine to build stamina, address an underlying health issue, or boost your energy levels. Starting small today will set you up for bigger successes in the future.

Results come down to one essential ingredient: making time for your goals and believing that you can do anything you set your mind to.

Don’t Give In to the Fear of Failure

Failure is natural and not a measure of who you are or what you’re capable of. Fearing what people will think or say if you don’t accomplish what you set out to do will only hold you back.

Major players in the world of business like Bill Gates and Richard Branson have plenty to share about their own failures. It’s healthy to feel a little fear about what you’re doing. The trick is to continue with intention, honesty, integrity, passion, and a healthy, productive perspective when you encounter failure.

Learn from your mistakes, seek help, ask questions, and use your failures as stepping stones to accomplish your goals. Failure can drive you to do things you didn’t think possible—challenge yourself to adapt, learn, and evolve, whether in your career, a new business initiative, or the relationships you maintain with those you love.

Know Your Purpose

Finding your purpose can mean different things to different people. In essence, it means knowing what you want out of life and why you set these goals in the first place.

Is your purpose to:

Make more money?

Be a better parent?

Become a better person to others?

Be more compassionate?

Travel the world and discover new cultures?

What do you want to achieve to feel happy, satisfied, and at peace? This is where your purpose lies.

Align your purpose with your goals by chalking out a simple roadmap to achieve the endgame result. It’s easy to visualize a purpose, but what are you doing to live it? Our minds govern our bodies, so it all begins in your head. Affirm what you want, acknowledge that it will take a lot of work and time, and take the necessary steps to achieve it.

Say no to procrastination, excuses, and letting others define your purpose. If you don’t have a circle of supportive friends and family, find a community of like-minded individuals who will motivate you to fulfill your goals.

You need people in your life who can hype you up, cheer you on when things get rough, and be there for you with no judgment when you fall.

Here’s a bit of inspiration. In the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi, the famed sushi chef is a prime example of purpose. His dreams didn’t involve turning his business into a global franchise or winning food awards. Jiro’s goal was only to create the perfect piece of sushi. So he channeled his energy toward perfecting his craft. Thousands of people from across the world flock to his restaurant and pay as much as $400 for a tasting menu.

Indulge in Solo Travel

Travel can open unexpected doors to the mind, heart, and soul. Taking a trip alone to an unknown country or city allows you to spend more time with yourself.

Interacting with strangers, learning about a new culture, sitting down to unfamiliar food, absorbing the hustle and bustle of a new city, and enjoying moments of stillness with yourself can all be revelatory.

Spending time alone in a new place can help you commit to new challenges and experiences. Identify the things that allowed you to push yourself or take a leap of faith as you went through your solo travels. Record your thoughts in a journal so you can build on those reflections.

After your trip, develop a new, productive routine based on what you learned, experienced, and felt. Adjust your habits, mindset, and environment to create a setting that will help you realize your best self.

The beauty of travel is that it can expose you to fresh ideas and experiences that can enhance your life in many ways.

Final Thoughts

It will take courage, commitment, and hard work to unleash the best form of you. It may feel daunting to begin, but once you find your purpose, accept failure if it comes, open your heart to new experiences, and elevate your mindset, you’re sure to see your labor bear sweet fruit.