Everyone dreams of becoming the best version of themselves, but only a few of us actually commit ourselves to doing it.
Truth be told, we are our own enemies when it comes to achieving success or finding happiness, passion, and purpose in everything we do.
But, really, how do we become the best version of ourselves?
TEDx speaker and celebrity life coach Myke Celis seems to have found the answer through his book titled #BestMeEver: Of Moving On and Moving Forward.
#BestMeEver is a personal hashtag used by Myke to document his personal growth on social media. He later decided to share his wisdom and quotes through a book of the same title.
In a recent interview with PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), the 37-year-old advertising practitioner-entrepreneur shared four key steps to achieving becoming the best version of yourself.
So, where to begin?
The first step is the hardest: Accept yourself and acknowledge your strengths and your weaknesses.
Myke explained, "Accept mo muna kung ano yung pinanggalingan mo.
"Things don’t happen as planned, but you have to accept, ‘Nasaan ka ba muna ngayon sa space mo sa buhay?’
"If you don’t accept it, you cannot really grow from it, di ba?"
Self-acceptance does not happen at the snap of a finger.
Myke shared he went through a period of despair, pain, and adversity at the beginning of his journey to self-discovery.
He said the experience taught him how to be resilient, hopeful, and optimistic about life.
In the end, he found self-acceptance.
He narrated, "It makes you appreciate the now na nakakalimutan natin.
"If you don’t feel broken kasi, ang laging nakikita natin is future-forward na, ‘What can I still be?’
"Pero once you get broken and you realize kung nasaan talaga yung space mo, you realize the beauty there na meaning, ‘Ito yung mga nao-overlook ko.’
"And you learn from there. Sabi ko nga, any experience, good or bad, could actually help you grow.
"It’s up to you on how you actually take that. Technically, walang experience na hindi makakatulong sa iyo."
The second step is to give yourself time to process and deal with your emotions.
Myke explained, "You have to actually take time with acceptance, to grieve about it.
"Meaning may hindi ka nagustuhan na part, feeling mo naabuso ka, feeling mo naloko ka, or galit na galit ka sa sarili mo or sa ibang tao.
"Take time na ilabas mo muna yun, kasi kapag hindi mo nalabas, again, hindi mo mahuhukay yung weakness within."
The third step is forgive.
Myke explained simply, "You forgive yourself and others because, again, you can not bring out your best unless may excess baggage pa diyan."
As cliché as it may sound, the last step is to find your passion.
Myke told PEP.ph, "When you close your eyes, and you think about that one thing that you have always wanted to do for the rest of your life even if you’re not paid, ano yun?
"Kasi nandoon yung passion mo. When you realize your passion and you do your step-by-step process in pursuing it, that is your #BestMeEver.”
CONTENTMENT AND TRUE HAPPINESS
If we are at peace with ourselves, with what we have, and not want what others have, then we have no reason to ask for anything more.
Myke said, "Yung #BestMeEver, lagi kong sinasabi na it’s not in comparison with anyone else.
"Meaning you can be happy as a reporter, I can be happy as a life coach, someone else might be happy as a talk show host, pero it doesn’t mean na ang isa mas masaya sa iba.
"It’s more of kung saan talaga ang feeling mo, nandoon ka."
Filipino millennials are often victims of social media pressures to outdo or outshine the others, what with everyone sharng online every thought or activity they deem post-worthy.
Myke concurred, "Marami sa kanila ang nape-pressure whether from the family, social media, sa school, and the ridiculously high standards that they put upon themselves.
"So meaning, di ba ang mga tao ngayon, gusto nila pag-graduate from senior high, CEO na agad?
"Or, ‘Kailangan ganito na or else lalayasan kita kung hindi mo ako pinagta-travel kapag weeked…’
"Yung mga ganung context, but that’s because that’s how they see the perfect life.
"Social media, when you see a lot of people, ‘Bakit siya nakaka-travel?’ ‘Bakit siya ganyan-ganyan?’
"Which reverts me back to my claim na your #BestMeEver is not in comparison with anyone else.
"So just focus on your own journey kasi wala rin naman kapareho ‘yan."
The multi-media host added, "How can it be relevant? In this time and age na mataas ang depression and suicide coming from the pressures around you, you only pressure yourself if you try so hard to be someone else.
"But if you uphold your own, you’d realize na wala talagang pressure and yet, there’s beauty in it.
"Because if you grow in harmony with authenticity, you are able to be the best version of yourself."
For Myke, it's actually okay to share our life on social media, but it is upon us to decide if we will let it affect our life.
"Hindi masama ang totally mag-immerse sa social media because it helps connect us with the rest of the world.
"But what I can say is how you digest it, how you let it affect you and your whole being, yun yung puwedeng maging masama. Depende sa iyo, you still have a choice."
For those planning to detoxify themselves from social media, Myke advised to keep a "gratitude journal" as what he has been doing instead of posting them online.
"What I do is that I have a gratitude journal, I write the things that went well, all the things that did not go well, because you have to acknowledge din na may palpak din and what can I still do about it after?
"Why is it very important? It’s important for you to be in a space of awareness na parang, ito yung buhay mo and kailangan matanggap mo.
"Pag dine-deny mo kasi yung isang aspect ng buhay mo na parang, ‘Hindi, my life is perfect.’
"You’re not growing from it, you’re only hiding from the reality that is there.
"Kaya ang tendency nung iba, when you’re hiding from it, the moment it comes back, mas mahihirapan ka mag-cope."