Definition of “Do Your Best”

“Just do your best.” This phrase may conjure up images of your parents sending you off to school to participate in the school-wide spelling bee; Or your soccer coach sending you off to cover a position you’ve never played before; Or your elementary school teacher trying to get you to answer a tricky question. Maybe you can relate to this phrase now, as your boss tells you to “do your best” to complete a major project when you don’t have enough time or resources to pull off a miracle.

Why does this phrase cause such fear? I was reading an author a couple of weeks ago and he suggested doing away with this phrase because it is harmful to children. His argument was that it instills perfectionism and competition and doesn’t do enough to underline the fact that trying is equally important as doing something well. He argued that “do your best” kept people from even trying, if they couldn’t perform perfectly or at 100%.

To me, “do your best” is an invitation to try. It invites you to jump right in and do what you can. Why do you always have to be perfect? You don’t. And it’s completely unreasonable to think that your best is 100%, 100% of the time. That is the exact false thinking that leads to perfectionism!

Give yourself permission to try something, and do your best. If your best is only 40% at that moment. That’s fine. The point is to try it. “Your best” should be a term that is relative to any given moment, not a concrete definition of who you are.

As long as you’re attempting and trying so that you can go home feeling proud of your performance, 40% should feel fine to you.

 Kimberly Englot is an Authentic Life coach, the founder of Authentic Self and the creator of the Master Life Cleanse.. Kimberly works with women who want to eliminate the negative energy blocks in life. In 12 months or less she guides her clients to more health, wealth and happiness. Learn how do that with the brand new Master Life Cleanse Action Guide, or participate in the Master Life Cleanse Program. For more information check out Kimberly’s website , or email her at Kimberly@kimberlyenglot.com.