Do you ever feel sometimes in life that you have set goals, made plans, created tasks and no matter how hard you try you just can’t quite seem to get there? Despite persistence and perseverance, completing the list just seems like it is out of reach. You may finish some, but your list of “to do” items for yourself just never seems to get finished.

Now assume you take that same list and review it with a different approach. If you were to give that list to someone you knew and they didn’t complete each and every task, would you consider them a failure? If the answer is, ‘Of course not”, then just maybe you are asking a little too much of yourself and therefore becoming your own worst enemy.

Working a full time job and running this program in the morning and evenings often causes me to create enormous task lists. The unnecessary pressure that I put on myself sometimes causes me to stop and take a look at what I am actually asking and requiring of myself and readjust to be much more realistic. We can’t add stamina to what our bodies are already capable of and we certainly can’t add more hours to a day.  So, why do we put that unneeded pressure on ourselves that isn’t necessary?

I believe at the end of the day everyone wants to be the best at what they can be. However, sometimes the level of best that we have set for ourselves is unrealistic and unattainable.  How often does anyone else really care that we haven’t obtained an objective other than ourselves?  Who is waiting there with a clipboard, doing a double check on us to make sure that we have completed what we have told ourselves to complete?  Usually, no one but ourselves and therein lies the possibility of becoming our own worst enemy.

If we allow ourselves to require that we accomplish more than we are capable of, we only set ourselves up for failure from the very beginning. When we shorten the list, accomplish what we can and then add more as time and stamina permits, we build a firm foundation of confidence that ultimately makes us a happier and more satisfied person.

So, if you have become one of those people that have turned into your own worst enemy, there is a fix for it. Be kind to yourself as you would to others. Set realistic goals and add only as you accomplish. Reward yourself for positive steps that make you successful in your endeavors. Most of all, be your own best friend instead of your own worst enemy.

Have a great day and remember to be the reason someone smiles today.

Ron