Being the Best You

As a teenager, I can remember a time when I was performing piano at a private function in a local stately home that was used for conferences and weddings. There were five of us, from the same school, all taking it in turns to play. I remember watching a lad who was a couple of years my junior and who didn’t read music, he simply played what he wanted to and he played wonderfully.

I found this quite extraordinary as I had never encountered someone with such an ability before. I simply couldn’t envisage myself doing this, without any music at all. He improvised and played things he’d heard before and to be totally honest I found myself feeling immensely jealous as I sat and listened to him. I asked him questions about how he could do such a thing and generally sat there in total awe.

A little while later it was my turn to play and I had the amazing experience of having the roles reversed. As I played, this young lad sat transfixed and then in between pieces he asked me loads of questions about how I could do such a thing. At this young age, I was unable to register the fact that he was in awe of my ability to read music and I went home feeling all miserable about not being able to play without!

Now, when I have time, I like to sit and play. This evening I was playing one of the pieces that I vividly remember playing, all those years ago and it reminded me of this event in my life. Luckily, I now appreciate the skill that I have been developing for almost 30 years and the jealousy is no more. However, there is a really important point here… the majority of us compare ourselves constantly to other people and, rightly or wrongly, to our perception of other people’s standards.

What if we take this example where two young boys sat in awe of each other, each considering the other’s talent something so far out of their reach, that they felt something missing in themselves. What if… these same two boys had simply celebrated the achievements of the other and their own achievements, without feeling a sense of lack? What if… we do this in our own lives? What if… we set our own standards and measured them solely against our own standards and not someone elses?

Unless your life or livelihood depends on being no.1 against every other human being, why waste the time beating yourself up for being no.2 or no. 200 or even no. 2 billion? Be your own Number 1. Be the Best You.