A Closer Look At Your Best Self

Have you been hearing people use the phrase "your best self" lately? I have - especially with regard to bringing your best self to work. Whether it's in my numerous Zoom meetings and webinars, or daily conversations with colleagues and co-workers, there seems to be a reference to someone striving to be their best self. This prompted me to take a closer look at the concept through the psychology lens that I instinctively and professionally view everything.

On the surface, the best self-concept is completely commendable. Who would discourage anyone from taking interest or action in unleashing the best version of themselves? Not a spouse, friend, or employer. The questions that are most germane to any discussion about bringing one's best self to work, or any place for that matter, is how does one define one's best self? How does one's best self differ from one's less than best self? And can one's best self get better?

These are the questions that those in the professional and personal development fields are speaking and writing about in abundance. There are endless articles on how to be your best self, and things you need to do to become your best self, but if the definition of one's best self is subjective, then only the subject seeking to qualify the best self can adequately quantify it. That makes it inherently personal. 

When you "bring your best self to work" it inevitably implies that you have identified a version of you that can eclipse a previous, less stellar version of yourself to do the job that you were hired to do. So which version of you showed up at the interview? Which one got hired? I doubt the less stellar version. 

So... is the best self version of you the one that gives what you feel will meet the approval and expectations of others? Or is your best self influenced by environmental factors, intrinsic motivation, or perhaps both? Or is your best self the version of you that's engaged, effective, efficient, productive, and striving for growth at all times? 

Even though the best self-concept is ill-defined, true comprehension of it can be obtained through understanding the social psychology of the phenomenal self. It too is a self-concept, and there is a great deal of scientific research written about it. Most significant is that it is difficult to be your best self all the time because we change in thought, values, and capacity over time. This means being your best self in optimal conditions, in the moment, is more feasible, and less permanent. Both science and observation reveal that in the absence of strong intrinsic motivation, psychological safety can be the impetus for achieving your best self at work.

I've said many times that growth truly begins where one's comfort zone ends; therefore, when you examine your actual self versus your best self, you quickly recognize that there is often a discrepancy between who you are, and who you'd like to be (at your best). Work and life provide us with the opportunity to close that gap daily. That's the real beauty of the best self concept; it creates self-awareness that can be used as a criteria for developing one's better self, which is one step closer, to achieving one's (momentary) best self.