BY JEFF CORBETT

Are you the best you’ve ever been?

You say, “What?”

Let me rephrase that. Looking back over your life, are you a better person today than ever before? Are you more considerate, more forgiving, a better listener, a better spouse, a better friend, a better citizen, more understanding, more confident, more patient, and more committed than ever?

If not, why not?

I am convinced that we are the product of our experiences, and as we age, if we do this thing called “life” correctly, we make mistakes that we learn from and accomplish successes that give us joy, insight, and wisdom. We build on this to continually improve, advance, and grow in our personal and professional lives.

Or do we?

It is not uncommon, after we spend a couple of years in a job, a marriage, or a purpose, and get comfortable, that the twin gremlins of complacency and mediocrity hijack our motivation, and we settle for just being okay.

We begin to lose our fire, our zest, our competitive spirit, and we become inferior copies of our former selves. Sound familiar?

How can you break out of the shadows and soar in the sunshine? Let’s look.

The Company You Keep

A combat-hardened general was reviewing an elite squadron of paratroopers. Standing before a line of soldiers, he asked gruffly, “How do you like jumping?”

“I love it, sir,” was the reply.

“And you?” said the general to the next soldier in line.

“It’s the most exhilarating thing I’ve ever done, sir!”

And so he went down the line until one soldier replied, “I hate it, sir.”

“Then why do you jump?” asked the startled officer.

“Because, I like being around the kind of men who do.”

It’s hard to excel when you surround yourself with people who are willing to be just okay or are satisfied to just get by.

Seek out those for whom every day is an adventure, who truly seek to do good and great things, and share life with them.

What’s the old saying about how tough it is to soar like an eagle when you’re surrounded by a bunch of turkeys?

Resting on Laurels

The past can be a bad influence on your motivation in three ways:

• If you live off of prior successes and get lazy;
• if you longingly gaze back to when you were younger, thinner, more motivated, more successful, and you say “why bother now?”
• And, when you let past failures beat you down

I remember a “Peanuts” comic strip where Lucy missed another foul ball.

As she apologetically approached Charlie Brown on the mound, she said, “I thought I had it, but suddenly I remembered all the others I’ve missed, and the past got in my eyes!”

Don’t dwell on past mistakes. Heed the following advice from Aldous Huxley: “Chronic remorse is a most undesirable sentiment. If you have behaved badly, repent, make what amends you can and address yourself to the task of behaving better next time. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.”

Be Kind

One of the great influences in my life was a man named Henry Boggan. I met Henry in 1979 when I was working at WBT radio in Charlotte, and I was tapped to be the first producer of the “Hello Henry” talk show, with Henry as the host.

I learned volumes from that man as we fielded nightly phone calls from Maine to Miami, and what impressed me most were the words he often gave when parting company or ending a long chat with a listener calling in.

Instead of “good-bye” or “take care,” Henry would say “Be kind.”

As these two words of advice from Henry are a fading echo in a world that has become mean, vow to keep his advice alive.

And don’t wait too long.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson cautioned us, “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”

Go Deep!

Do you have passion in your life? No, not Fabio passion, but a zest for living.

As Mary Kay Ash observed, “Most people live and die with their music still unplayed. They never dare to try.”

Have you played your tune with all you’ve got?

“Playing it safe is the riskiest choice we can ever make” warns author Sarah Ban Breathnach.
And when it comes to the secret of a life well-lived, Emerson notes “It is not the length of life, but the depth of life.”

How deep have you gone? Are you still in the shallow end of the pool?

Take a deep breath and dive in. Remember, you only live once, but if you live right, once is enough.

Jeff Corbett is an experienced public speaker, meeting facilitator and sales/marketing professional. He lives in Statesville.