7 groovy days of inspiration

#beatticus

I have this image of my best self, and sometimes that's who I am. More often I'm just a bit to the left or the right, sometimes around the block, occasionally across town. And you know, that's not the worst thing. If I was my best self all the time, I'd be so pleased with myself I'd be insufferable. "Check me out, being my best self," I'd say. I'd wear special my "being my best self" hat. So that's not the goal. The goal is to make progress.

"Best self" is a pretty groovy phrase -- so groovy I feel funny even writing it. But you know, groovy can be a force for good. Of late, I've been talking with a bunch of friends who are on a similar groovy trek, trying to inch toward their best or at least better selves. In case that's you, I thought I'd share a little life hack I recently stumbled on -- a simple slightly-techy daily practice: picking a picture.

"Best self" is a pretty groovy phrase -- so groovy I feel funny even writing it. But you know, groovy can be a force for good.

I started by thinking about people who represent attributes I aspire to. That's a little different -- a little more specific -- than picking people whose attributes you admire. It's not just who's great, it's who's great in a way that pulls you in a direction you're hoping to go.

The first people I put on my list were a few favorite fictional characters and a pair of politicians. Then I added the notorious RBG and a relative of mine from the 1930s I've never met but who lived an impactful life. 7 people in all, and with the help of Google search, they turned into 7 images. For some reason, black and white worked best for me, so much so that I did a quick edit for a couple of the pictures.

I saved them to an album on my iphone, and each morning since I've headed over to my settings and picked one as my "lock screen" for the day. And that's it -- a little visualization plus the will to change my iphone settings every 24 hours. I expect there's a way to automate this, but I don't want to. I'd rather make this a morning choice.

Now when I've got an itch to check Facebook, or when I'm scrolling wikipedia for the name of that guy from The Rutles (the drummer -- not Dirk -- what's his name?) I pause and spend a sec with one of these fine folks, and it sort of rights my ship.

Even the selection process was good for my brain. It got me thinking about why one person works for me and another doesn't. I'm guessing this list will keep changing in the weeks ahead. But for today I'm happy to have these 7 lights guiding my way, happy to use my iphone settings for good, happy to nudge myself forward toward this groovy goal.

Got any tricks that help you be your best groovy self? I'd love to hear 'em...

#inspiration #motivation #lifehacks #beatticus

Thanks, Danny boy... if not 'best', at least Big Self.

Maggie Harmon

Philanthropy - Spiritual Direction - Public Theology

5y

"There are two ways to spread the light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it." - Edith Wharton; Thank you for sharing this lovely practice. 

Anna Matalon

Product @ Scale AI | Previously founder at Purpose

5y

That's such a great idea! I'm going to give this a try. The first two people who came to my mind – Jane Goodall and Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov from Gentleman in Moscow.  Yikes. How do I run a meeting like Jane Goodall? :\

Andreas Merz

Helping people learn and realize their potential | LinkedIn Learning Instructor

5y

That's a neat trick Dan! Thanks for sharing.

Kristin E.

Artist ⬪ Learning Strategist ⬪ Jedi Organizer ⬪ Adaptable Empath ⬪ Coaching Teams to Thrive | Lynda.com, LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, TikTok

5y

Love this - making my list now.

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